Mystic Wars
by TheBaneOfHumanity
Summary: (INFINITY VERSE) Long ago, when the pyramids were still young, Egypt had been protected by from the forces of darkness by the Sorcerer Supreme. Now, five thousand years later, the Sorcerer's greatest foe, the mother of all that is evil, plans to make her return. After all these years, the time has come for a new Sorcerer Supreme. But who will it be? And will he/she succeed?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: So...when it comes to Yu-Gi-Oh, there's gonna be a few things that, as you'll see, may end up being retconned. For example, Yami Bakura's new master and the fact that, in ancient times, some characters utilized magic rather than settling things with duels. Just thought I'd let you guys know beforehand so that it won't seem quite as jarring. Also, do keep in mind that this is to benefit this specific universe. None of this is cannon to begin with and I feel like we have the freedom to change a few things. Don't worry, though, we won't be regularly doing this, just here and there if we have some good ideas.**

**Also, I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners. **

* * *

Mystic Wars

Chapter 1

* * *

Long ago, a mighty Pharaoh ruled over Egypt. But he was no mere king of a mighty land. For he was was the Sorcerer Supreme. As master of the Mystic Arts, the Pharaoh guarded the world from the forces of evil that crept out of the shadows. The chiefest and greatest of these evils that the Pharaoh did battle with was Mirage. The mother of all evil. Alongside her children, the Spirits of Evil, Mirage cut a swath of death and destruction across the kingdom of Egypt until the Pharaoh managed to seal her away in her home dimension of Morbia with the use of seven mystic items to trap her and banish her brood to another world far from our own.

Sadly, the king's victory was short lived, for the injuries he received during the battle were fatal. With the Pharaoh gone, the title and duties of Sorcerer Supreme passed on from one bearer to the next throughout history. From the sorceress Thrace to the great wizard Merlin, it was the job of these lords and ladies of magic to keep the forces of darkness at bay, as well as those who used magic for their own nefarious ends. But above all else, it was the sworn oath of all who bared the title of Master of the Mystic Arts to safeguard the world from Mirage and her wicked children, for should they ever return, the world would surely be thrown into darkness.

Centuries have past, and the world has been without a Sorcerer Supreme for far too long. The seven items of power that kept Mirage locked away from our world have been scattered across the globe and the evil is rising once again...

* * *

"Okay...concentrate," Marik said to himself.

Marik sat up straight before inhaling deeply and exhaling with a long breath. He had been practicing this technique for three days now in the confines of his room and felt like he finally had it down. He steadied himself as he closed his eyes and reached out internally to the unseen mystical energies that surrounded his being. Once he felt the energy connect to him, he held out his hand as he let the power flow like a river before giving physical form to it in the shape of a circular shape. Opening his eyes to see his success, Marik conjured another magical circle in his other hand.

Acting on his success, Marik put the two circles together and formed a new single circle that was the same size as he was. This bigger circle of mystic energy held symbols and runes within it, glowing brightly in a vast array of colors as it rotated counter-clockwise to how the circle was turning. It took Marik three days to get this barrier spell right, and seeing the fruits of his labor complete made him ecstatic to say the least.

Just then, he heard a knock at his door. It then opened to reveal a pair of red clad ninjas, both of whom stepped inside and approached the spellcaster. For the past several months since being freed from his evil self and breaking away from the Rare Hunters, Marik had been trying to find peace within the the ninja clan known as The Foot. More specifically, the clan's New York clan, which had been rebuilt by Karai, the adopted daughter of The Foot's deceased leader, The Shredder. This new incarnation of The Foot was a place meant to heal the mind and body and welcomed any who needed shelter from their past sins and a chance to redeem themselves.

Redemption. That word seemed so foreign to Marik after all the horrors he committed in his mad quest for power, and the subsequent evil he had unleashed when his darker self took control and nearly destroyed what little light he had left in the world, as well as said world in the process.

Shortly after the Pharaoh freed him from his dark side's hold on him, Marik departed out into the world in order to find peace with himself. He did not tell his sister, Ishizu, where he was going, nor did he tell his adoptive brother, Odion, but he did tell them that he would return one day once he felt that he had found the peace he had longed for. However, while he was away, he couldn't help but get word of his elder sister's wedding to that arrogant blowhard of a billionaire, Seto Kaiba. **[1]** What Ishizu saw in that jackass he'll never know, but she loved him and, from what he understood, Kaiba did care for her, or at least, in his own way. When Marik found his way to the Foot Clan, he was accepted into the ninja clan with open arms and trained to best the demons of his past as well as hone his skills as a spellcaster.

It was a little known fact that the Ishtar family were formidable magic users in the past so that they could better protect the Pharaoh's tomb, but Marik's father had denied his children the chance to learn magic, claiming that they were not worthy of harnessing such raw power. Yet another reason for him to hate his father. Before he joined the Foot, he returned to his childhood home and collected the ancient spellbooks that his father had once hidden away from him and soon studied the ways of magic to his heart's content while at the same time training in the arts of Ninjitisu to balance his mind and body. Karai and her ninjas accepted Marik into their ranks, but the former villain had a tendency to distance himself the clan, not that he thought that he was above them, but more of a fear he may have a relapse and bring harm to them.

"Master Karai wishes to see you," one of the ninja's said.

Marik nodded in acknowledgement before fallowing the two other Clan members, all the while wondering what Karai would want with him.

* * *

"Keep your eyes peeled," Wheeljack said to the other team members. "The intruder is close."

Rena Rouge, Herc Armstrong and Sailor Jupiter all nodded as they carefully entered the Tower's engine room. Moments ago, Sheila informed the League members who were on duty at the moment of an unregistered teleportation, meaning that there was an intruder within the Tower. The heroes quickly split into teams and began to search for the unknown threat that had entered their orbital base, but found nothing. That was until Wheeljack and his group detected an unknown life sign in the station's engine room. Fearing what could be done to the base, the four of them instantly headed there in order to keep whoever or whatever was skulking around in there from doing any damage to the base.

The four heroes spread out as the searched every inch of the engine room, but still found nothing, until they heard the sound of whistling in the darkness, and it was getting closer.

"Get ready," the Autobot said to the others.

The four of them readied their weapons for their unknown adversary to make themselves known, but when they did casually step into the light, they were not a foe, but a friend...kind of.

"Janna?!" they said in unison in total disbelief.

Janna was a punk goth girl who was friends with Marco and Star, but she was not a member of the Infinity League due to her lack of skills and her lack of respect for authority. True, Janna was well versed in the occult, but her attitude made her nearly impossible to work with. The teen also could care less about joining the team of heroes, but she did have a tendency to break into the tower every now and again for the fun of it.

"Sheila, cancel the red alert," Wheeljack said to the A.I. "It's just Janna...again."

"S'up, my dudes?" the punk girl greeted casually, as if if she wasn't aware that she had broken into a secure facility.

"What do you think your doing here?" Armstrong scolded. "How many times do we have to tell you to stop breaking into the Tower?"

"Eh, I lost count after twenty-five," the teen brushed off.

"Why are you even here?" Rena questioned. "Star-"

"Is benched by the League for PTSD and Marco's time-traveling with a few other heroes, I know," Janna cut off. **[2] [3]**

"How did you-" Sailor Jupiter attempted to ask.

"I know things," the goth again interrupted. "Besides, I'm not here to see them, I came up here for a reason."

"You mean aside from breaking several protocols?" Armstrong cited.

"Well, yeah, it wouldn't be fun if I wasn't," Janna noted. "Anyway, I found something and wanted your big brains to figure out what it is."

She then reached into her jacket and pulled out a small, golden object. It was a jewel, or at least half of it. The jewel in question was in the shape of a scarab and appeared as though it connected to another half that was clearly missing. Like a lost puzzle piece.

"What is it?" Jupiter asked.

"No idea," Janna simply replied. "I found it at one of local occult stores I shop at. The owner said that it's part of a key that lead to a great power."

"Or, it could just be a hunk of junk," the leader of the Earth Corps pointed out.

"I have to agree with Armstrong," Rena added. "It just looks like a broken piece of jewelry to me."

"See that's what normies like you would say," Janna said. "But I want a second opinion."

She then held it up to Wheeljack.

"Think you can run a quick scan on this for me?" she asked.

With an annoyed sigh, the Autobot engineer scanned the jewel.

"Well, aside from some minor energy readings, there's nothing out of the ordinary with this thing," Wheeljack answered.

"Now if your satisfied with wasting our time, we'll have you teleported back down to Earth," Herc said.

"Come on, kiddo," Wheeljack said to the girl. "I'll send you back home."

Janna merely shrugged in indifference before following Wheeljack out of the engine and back toward the teleporter. However, while her outward expression didn't show it, on the inside, Janna was upset. Not at the League, but with herself. True, she was a great help to Star and Marco, but the young goth wished she could do more. As she looked down at her trinket before being sent back down to Earth, she couldn't help but feel that there was more to this little jewel than met the eye.

* * *

As he entered her throne room, Marik still had no idea as to why Karai and summoned him. Had he done something wrong? He honestly couldn't think of anything he had down to offend his master. A promotion, perhaps? That wasn't it either. Marik wasn't a skilled ninja as the other Clan members were. The two ninjas lead him into the throne room before departing, thus allow him to approach Karai, who was sitting on her throne with her right hand woman, the illusionist known as Shinigmi, standing by her side. Marik bowed before the Clan leader before Karai motioned for him to rise up.

"You summoned me?" he asked.

"Yes," Karai answered simply. "We have something urgent to discuss."

"Urgent?" Marik repeated in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I just received word from a messenger of a mutual acquaintance of ours," the daughter of Splinter began. "The Huntsmaster."

Marik looked away in shame, for he did indeed know that name. During his days as the leader of the Rare Hunters, his organization clashed several times with the Huntsclan. A secret order of monster and magic hunting warriors who wanted to see to the total eradication of the supernatural. Because Marik and his Rare Hunters were in the business of acquiring magical items, it resulted with clashes with the Huntsclan, who wanted to destroy all things magic. The secret wars between the two factions resulted in several deaths among both sides, though the Huntsclan suffered greater losses due to Marik's Millennium Rod giving the Rare Hunters the edge the needed to combat their enemy. It was one of the many things Marik deeply regretted in his life that made him want to change. He had hoped that his lfe here among the Foot would go unnoticed, but that was clearly not the case.

"It seems that word has gotten to the Huntsmaster that you are among our ranks," Karai continued. "And as you can guess, he's not happy about that."

"I don't blame him..." Marik said in a low voice. "The things I did to his men were...unspeakable."

"I wouldn't play the sympathy card for that monster," Shinigami spoke up. "He's responsible for the deaths of our best warriors."

It wasn't just the Rare Hunters that the Huntsclan fought against, but also the Foot Clan at one point as well. Both clans occupied New York and often fought over territory within the city. The war went on for years until the Foot's previous leader, the Shredder, forged a ceasefire with the Huntsclan, not out of the kindness of his black heart, but because he wanted to focus on his own personal vendetta against Hamato Yoshi and his four sons, who had since become allies to the Foot since Karai's ascension to the throne. Karai worked hard to keep the peace with the Huntsclan, but Marik knew that his presence put that fragile peace in danger.

"After discussing our all options, we reached a agreement," The leader of the Foot continued. "I'm sorry Marik, but you must leave the Foot Clan."

"What?" Marik said, taken aback by that statement.

"Be thankful they agreed to only your exile," Shinigami mentioned. "They originally wanted your head."

"But where can I go?" Marik asked. "I'm still trying to redeem myself."

"Perhaps your redemption is not with us," Karai posed. "Perhaps it's somewhere else out there in the world."

If the young spellcaster was being honest with himself, he always knew that he would have to leave the ninja clan behind. However, now that he had finally come to this point, Marik had to ask himself: Where would go now? Back to his family? Seek out solace somewhere else? He had no idea.

"You can stay for the rest of the day," Karai informed him. "But at dawn's first light tomorrow, you have to leave."

The young leader then stood up, came down from the steps and gently placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before speaking again.

"As someone who's...made their share of mistakes, I understand what you're going though," she said. "I believe your calling is out there in the world. You may keep your sword as a remembrance of your time here with us."

Marik gave her a small smile before bowing in respect, which she returned, before he departed the throne room. However, his thoughts still lingered on what his future would hold.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, someone from Marik's past had finally arrived in New York. But this was not a friend or family member, though he did consider him an ally for a time. The man had long white hair and was wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a blue and white stripped shirt with a long black leather trenchcoat. Hidden underneath his coat was an object of great power and even greater malevolence. Hanging around his neck was a gold ring with several prongs attached to it as well as a golden triangle with an eye at the center of it.

The man looked like he was someone in his early twenties, and on some level that was true, but while the flesh of the man was young, the spirit that was man was a host for something far older and darker. It took some time for the traveler to reach the city that never sleeps, but he finally did, and now he could begin his search for what he had been hunting all these centuries.

As he stalked the streets with his relic leading the way, he felt a a force reach out from beyond, calling to him from a place beyond the borders of this world's plane of existence. Heeding the call, the man quickly ducked into an alleyway. He then opened his coat up just as his necklace had been glowing, a clear indication that he was indeed being summoned by his master. Just then, the man's shadow on the wall began to twist and morph as it grew larger until it towered over him. The shadow now had a feminine look to it, but with cat-like features such as a pair of feline eyes that glowed a dark green. The man keeled before the shadow, who in turn crossed its arms as it looked down in contempt at him.

"Bakura," the shadow regarded.

"Master Mirage," Bakura replied.

Mirage. The mother of all evil. In history, she had been called many things: Lilith, Hecate, Eris, but no matter the name, she still had the same purpose: To bring wrath and ruin down upon mankind. Though she had been trapped in her home dimension of Moriba, she could still reach out and touch the dark souls of those who would serve her. Bakura was one of her many apprentices, though they had a special relationship. When Mirage was still free to walk the world, she found Bakura as a child. Even as a boy, she could still feel the hatred and darkness that radiated through his soul like a wildfire.

She groomed the boy to be her latest apprentice until the Pharaoh defeated her. However, before she was locked away, Mirage managed to imprint a piece of herself into the Millennium Ring so she could still have a connection to her student. Before he met his own end, Bakura transferred his spirit into the ring as well where he waited for centuries for someone to free him so that he could carry out his mission: To free his mistress.

"I'm growing tired of these setbacks, my apprentice," Mirage stated. "Time and again you've sworn to find the Millennium Items, and yet after all these centuries, I still remain here in Morbia!"

"It's a task easier said than done, master," her student said. "Did I not recover the Millennium Eye for you?"

"So you did," Mirage agreed. "But, tell me: Where is the Millennium Puzzle? Or the Necklace? Or the Scale? Perhaps you've. found the Millennium Key and wanted to surprise me?"

Bakura grit his teeth and he looked up his master's shadow with anger in his eyes, who in turn narrowed her own back down at him. A silent warning to stay his hand from doing anything foolish.

"My freedom can only occur when we have all seven Millennium Items," Mirage reminded him. "And you have taken centuries to accomplish this task."

"Then I'm happy to report that I am closing in on the bearer of the Millennium Rod," the Thief King stated. "And once I find him I will-"

"Do what? Challenge him to a card game?" his mistress cut him off sharply. "I did not spend years teaching you all that I know so you could focus your magic on playing games!"

As Mirage's apprentice, Bakura was trained in the dark arts of magic and was well adapt at it. However, the Thief King understood that his magic would attract unwanted attention, so he limited his use of magic to whenever he dueled. But now that he thought about it, perhaps it was time to unleash his true magic on Marik, for the world had been changing greatly since his return to this plane of existence. From super powered beings to aliens, the world was clearly not the same. Even other magical beings had begun to arise among the ranks of the metahumans.

"It will be done, my master," he finally compiled.

"Good," his teacher said. "And to help you with this matter, I've arranged for you to have some assistance."

Bakura was confused by this remark. But before he could ask his master what she meant by that, a dark portal opened up in front of him. Out of the portal, several yellow reptilian eyes peered from the darkness at him, all the while they snarled and growled, making Bakura grin wickedly in response to the sight of the creatures looking back at him.

"Oh yes, they'll do nicely," he said before letting out a cackle.

* * *

**[1] - As explained in part 15 of The New Frontier**

**[2] - As seen in chapter 3 of The Dark Phoenix**

**[3] - Currently ongoing in Infinity League: No Road Home**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Mystic Wars

Chapter 2

* * *

Marik let out a small sigh as he packed away his things as he continued to clean out his room within the Foot Clan's home base. Some of the other students offered to to assist him with packing his things, but he politely declined, not wanting them to gain the ire of the Huntsclan if they found out that they helped him leave and take their rage out on them since they couldn't harm Marik directly due to the agreement Karai came to with the Huntsmaster. Having said that, however, Marik had a sense that the Huntsclan would still be out looking for him regardless of the accords they made with the Foot Clan. The young magic user would have to leave tonight and keep a low profile until he could leave the city. He did consider using a teleportation spell to avoid walking out in the open streets, but honestly, he had no idea where he wanted to go.

He had considered going to Domino City to be with his sister, but he didn't want to bother her, for he felt that he had been enough of a burden to her as it was. Ishizu had started her own life, and despite how Marik felt about Kaiba, she was happy, and her younger brother wasn't about to ruin for her. In all honesty, Marik couldn't bring himself to look his sister in the eye after the hell he put her and Odion through during the events of Battle City when his darker self took over. Thankfully, with the Pharaoh's aid, he destroyed that part of himself. At least, that's what he always told himself. Even though his Yami was supposedly gone, Marik still feared that his dark side still lingered in the deepest parts of his soul, waiting for the right moment to resurface once again.

He then thought about rejoining with his adoptive elder brother back in Egypt, but he reconsidered that option as well, not just because of the same reasons of not wanting to see Ishizu again, but also because he really had no idea where Odion had gone. Before he parted ways with his brother, the adopted member of the Ishtar family spoke of wanting to travel the country and aid those who were in need of care like they once needed when they were children. Not only that, but Marik couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy being back in his homeland after the years of abuse from his farther still haunting him.

Seeing that going to his family wasn't an option, the now former Foot Clan member decided that he would sneak through the city until he reached the airport and would deiced where he would go from there. Hopefully, changing back into his old clothes would give him the extra cover he needed to walk the city streets unoticed.

Just then, Marik heard the sound of a window crashing on the floor just above him which was followed by a cry of terror. Fearing that an attack from the Huntsclan had already begun, Marik ran over to the window of his room and quickly threw it open just in time to see a Foot Clan ninja falling to the ground below. Marik attempted to reach out and grab him, but the ninja slipped through his grasp and instead plummeted to his death. Horrified by this sight, Marik looked up toward the next level of the building and expected to see the Huntsclan killer, but instead saw something far worse crawling on the all.

It was a lizard creature covered in sickly, yellow scales glaring down at him. The beast had a bat-shaped head with pointed ears and yellow reptilian eyes with a long tail at the end of the beast's body. Without giving it a second thought, Marik fired a magical blast at the monster, making it yowl in pain before scurrying back into the window where it had just murdered the ninja from before.

Marik was shocked by what he had just saw: A real, flesh and blood El Khatib. When he was a child, his father would tell him and his siblings of these monsters as a way of keeping him from venturing into the outside world. The El Khatib were creatures who existed within the Shadow Realm, but every seven years during a full moon, they stalked the many cities of the world looking for children to take to either turn into one of them or consume them. Marik had thought of them as only boogeymen before, but that notion had become a reality. Marik also noted that it wasn't a full moon tonight, so how were the El Khatib able to walk the earthly plain?

The young magic user could figure that out later. Right now he had to warn the rest of the Foot Clan, for if the stories of these monsters were true, then that meant that the shadow walkers traveled in packs.

"We're under attack!" he shouted as he burst from his room and into the hallway. "Defend yourselves!"

Marik's cries for battle did not fall on deaf ears, for just as the Foot Clan awoke in their beds, the El Khatib launched their attack. Thanks to their shadow traveling ability, the monsters managed to slip past their guards and security and attack them them in their rooms. Sadly, while most of the Foot Ninjas could quickly react to the ambush by the monsters invading their base and fight back, their those who were slaughtered before they could even get out of their beds.

As Marik ran through the halls waking who he could, a pair of El Khatib crawled on the walls toward him at an incredible speed. Marik used his magic to create a magical wave fly toward the beasts, knocking them off of the walls in the process. He then used his magic to take objects like paintings and weapons hanging from the wall and levitate them off before hurling them like missiles at the monsters.

While Marik continued his attack on the two shadow walkers, a third beast had crawled up behind him, but before it could strike him down with its claws, the El Khatib was run through by a sword through its own back. Marik spun around to see the El Khatib that was about to kill him fall to the ground in a lifeless heap, revealing Karai, who had saved his life while he was distracted.

"Friends of yours?" the head of the Foot Clan asked.

"Apparently I've become very popular as of late!" Marik replied before blasting another shadow walker off the wall.

The El Khatib continued to swarm through the halls of the Foot Clan's base, forcing Karai, Marik and the rest of the ninjas to fight their way through wave after wave of the shadow walkers to the throne room in the hopes of gaining a better foothold of the building. Since his magic did the most damage, Marik was at the forefront of the group as they cut down any creature that sprang out to attack them while Karai and her troops cut down any that attacked from the side or from the rear.

None of this made any sense to the young wizard. How could the El Khatib be here? And, more importantly, why where they here? From the stories he knew of the monsters, they primarily went after children, so why were they attacking a base full of fully grown adults who were trained in the deadly arts?

Finally, once Marik and the others made it to the throne, they found a horrifying sight. Strewn about the room were the slaughtered bodies of ninjas who had attempted to defend the throne from the invading monster hordes. But there, standing victoriously in front of the throne with his foot on defeated Shinigami, was the last person Marik wanted to see again.

"Bakura..." he sneered.

"You know this guy?" Karai asked.

"Another one of my past mistakes," Marik answered regretfully.

"So, this is where you've been hiding, Marik?" the white-haired villain said. "I have to say I'm impressed. I spent months looking for you all across Japan and even Egypt, but I never would've guessed that you'd be living among the esteemed and legendary Foot Clan."

He then kicked Shinigami down the steps and at the feet of the ninjas. Karai quickly checked over her friend. Thankfully, she was still breathing. Marik glared back at his former ally, who only smiled wickedly back down at him. The young wizard cursed himself for ever affiliating himself with this madman, even if it was because he had lost his body to his darker self.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the Thief King was the one controlling the El Khatib, though as for the reasons as to how and why were unknown to Marik. Honestly, he didn't care at the moment, for he he wanted nothing more then to avenge the fallen on this dreadful night.

"Now then, I assume you already know what I've come for," Bakura began. "Hand over the Millennium Rod, or I'll have my friends continue to have their fun."

"Then you've come all this way for nothing, Bakura," his former ally declared. "I no longer own the Rod. And even if I did, the only way you'd get it from me is if you took it out of my cold, dead hands!"

"Now that is a tempting thought," Bakura chuckled darkly. "But let's say I believe you for a second. If you did hide your Millennium Item somewhere, then I'm going to enjoy making you telling me where it is."

"And just how are you going to do that? By challenging me to a shadow game?" Marik demanded.

"You'll only wish that this was a game," the thief king corrected.

"That's enough!" Karai proclaimed as she readied herself for an attack. "You will answer for the lives of my brothers and sisters you've taken this night!"

"No, Karai, wait!" Marik attempted to reason.

But his words fell on deaf ears as the leader of the Foot launched herself at her clan's enemy. Then, just as she was in mid-air, the daughter of Hamato Yoshi was suddenly struck by a blast of black, magical lightening that flew from Bakura's fingertips, sending Karai flying backwards into a nearby wall. The Thief King laughed manically as he unleashed another volley of lightning at the now wounded ninja. But just before it struck her again, Marik managed to jump in the way of the wave of dark magic and created a barrier to deflect it. Bakura was visibly taken aback by the sight of his former ally using magic, let alone magic that rivaled his own. The El Khatib began to hiss and snap at Marik as they began to move in on him.

"No!" Bakura commanded his underlings. "This one is mine!"

As ordered, the shadow walkers backed down, giving the Foot ninjas a chance to pull their leader to safety. Bakura walked down the throne's steps, glaring daggers at the other magic wielder, who returned the glare back at him. No word was spoken between them, for they were beyond words at this point. Once Bakura took the last step down to the ground level, the two sorcerers began to circle one another like two alpha predators about to fight for the right to rule. The rest of the Foot Clan also backed away from the coming fight, for they knew that they would be of little aide to Marik in his fight with the Thief King.

"So...I see you've been teaching yourself in the mystic arts," Bakura noted as the continued to circle each other. "Though I imagine that you haven't been at this long."

"Long enough to be a match for you," Marik spat back defiantly.

"We'll see about that," the white-haired villain refuted.

Suddenly, Bakura unleashed a blast of dark energy from his hands, only for Marik to quickly create a small portal in front of him before summoning another to fire the beam back at Bakura, who, while shocked by the sudden reversed role, formed a wall from the shadows around him to deflect the returning blast. The shadow wall then shot out multiple long, clawed hands that reached out for Marik. The young wizard formed a whip of pure magical energy before striking the oncoming claws into dust with every crack of it. With the last crack of the whip, he destroyed the last shadow claw, which also caused the shadow wall to fade away as well. Marik then used the whip to reach out and wrap around Bakura's wrists and flinging him across the room. The Thief King quickly recovered, outstretched his hand and unleashed a wave of unseen energy that threw Marik into a nearby wall.

The young wizard felt his his chest being to feel crushed as the invisible force was pressing against him. Fighting through the pain, Marik put his hand against the wall he was pinned against. Once he did, he focused his magical energy into the wall and began to channel his power through it. The wall behind Marik began to glow before he suddenly phased through it. Bakura was confused by the his rival's escape, but before he could comprehend what he just saw, the floor behind the white haired villain began to glow. Bakura spun around just in time to be blasted backward by his magical foe, who phased through the doorway on the floor.

Recovering quickly, Bakura created daggers made of magic before throwing them at his opponent as he stormed toward him. Marik formed a pair of magical shields in each hand, backing up as Bakura continued to advance on him while he tried his best to deflect the energy daggers. Unfortunately, the former villain was unable to stop them all as one of the daggers grazed his his side, cutting deeply into him. Marik let out a cry as he stumbled to the ground in pain, losing focus on his spell as he did.

"I must admit that I'm impressed, Marik," Bakura sad as he stood over his former ally. "But I'm afraid that you overplayed your hand."

"Well...just like in Duel Monsters, I still have one more card to play," Marik replied.

With one swift motion, the now exiled ninja drew his sword and began to channel his magic into it. As the sword began to shine brightly, Bakura realized what was about to happen and attempted to put an end to it by creating a sword made of the shadows around him before attempting to bring it down on the other magic user's head. But his attempts proved futile when Marik plunged his sword into the ground. A blast of blinding, golden light erupted from where the sword had struck as a shock wave sent Bakura flying backwards and smashing through one of the windows, resulting in him plummeting to the ground below. The magical shock wave had also vaporized the El Khatib in the room and had no doubt scared off the rest that had infested the Foot Clan's base.

When the shock wave finally faded away, the Foot Clan ninjas found Marik still on the ground, panting heavily with a now brunt and broken sword in his hands. Several Foot Ninjas quickly rushed to his side and helped him back to his feet just as Karai was standing up on her own as well.

"You think you got him?" she asked.

"No..." Marik panted out. "It's going to take a lot more than that to defeat that kind of evil, and I don't think I have the energy to do that spell again. I only chanced it because I could channel all of that the power through the sword."

"He's gone!" one of the ninjas called out as they looked out the window Bakura had fallen through. "There's no body!"

"The El Khatib must had shadow-traveled Bakura away from the area. I doubt he's even in the city at this point," Marik surmised before looking over to the ninja by the window. "Do you see anything caught on the window?"

"Only a torn piece of clothing," the ninja answered.

"Good, bring it here," Marik ordered. "I have an idea."

* * *

Marik was not wrong in his guess about where Bakura had fled. Shortly after colliding with the street below, the El Khatib had gathered him up before opening up a portal and carrying him far from New York in order for him to heal from his wounds in peace. The shadow walkers brought Bakura to an abandoned warehouse in New Jersey to rest for the time being. As the Thief King used his dark magic to mend his injuries, he knew that he failed his master yet again, and she would not be kind to him when she arrived.

He was not ready for the amount of power Marik wielded. His former ally may still be new at this, but he was clearly strong in the ways of magic. He cursed himself for being unable to do away with him quicker, but it had been too long since he used his magic for anything other than card games. Another reason as to why Marik got the upper hand on him. At least, in this round. He had no doubt that Marik, now trying to atone for his sins like an idiot, would more than likely now be on his trail in order to try and stop him from accomplishing his mission. Even with the power of his Millennium Ring blustering his abilities, Marik could still prove to be a formidable foe for the Thief King.

Just then, Bakura's shadow on the wall began to morph into the shape of his master, nearly making Bakura turn as white as his hair. He immediately got down on his knees, throwing himself to his master's non-existent mercy. Mirage's green eyes glared down upon her apprentice, shining darkly with contempt as they did.

"One reason, Bakura," she began in a low tone. "Give me one reason not to to make the rest of your eternal life a living Hell for failing me yet again!"

"I didn't know that Marik no longer had the Millennium Rod," her student admitted in a nervous tone. "Nor did I know that he had become so adept in the ways of magic as well."

"I gave you control of the El Khatib and you still fail me!" Mirage snarled. "I watched as your pride lead to your loss at the hands of a boy who had barely studied the ways of magic!"

"But he is an Ishtar, master!" Bakura proclaimed.

Mirage paused for a moment upon hearing that name before speaking again.

"An Ishtar?" she repeated curiously. "Are you certain?"

"I am, my master," Bakura confirmed. "And you know what that means."

The mother of all evil knew exactly what that meant. For generations, the Ishtars had protected the Pharaoh's secrets from her and her minions. The guardians of the tomb's bloodline were well adept at mastering magic quicker than most who studied it, making them the perfect protectors of the Pharaoh and all that he left behind after his passing. If Mirage was to gain her freedom from Morbia, then the Ishtar had to be dealt with before he became more of a threat to her plans.

"Then we must move swiftly if we are to succeed," the evil elemental concluded. "The longer that Ishtar boy lives, the stronger his connection to magic will become."

"What do you suggest, master?" Bakura inquired.

"Should you face him again, you must have the scales tipped in your favor," Mirage explained. "Fortunately, I have just the item that can help you in that matter."

Mirage's shadow then reached out with something in her hand. Bakura reached up and opened his hand to allow his master to place it in his palm. The Thief King then looked at what was placed in his hand and was instantly confused. It was small golden jewel in the shape of a scarab, or at least half of one that is.

"This is supposed to help me?" the apprentice questioned, trying hide his offense in his voice as did.

"It will lead you to a weapon that give you the power to slay the Ishtar and anyone else who stands in your way," his master explained. "Or at least it will once you reunite it with its other half."

"And your just now telling about this weapon because...?" Bakura asked.

"Because I am the master and you are the apprentice!" Mirage answered in a sharp tone. "You will only know what I know when I deem it necessary!"

Bakura instantly backed down, fearing reprisal from his teacher.

"Yes, my master," her student accepted before asking. "How will I find the other half of this jewel?"

"Are you not a wizard?" Mirage chided. "I'm sure a simple seeking spell shouldn't be that hard for you. But know this, my apprentice: Should you fail me one more time, there will no place in this life or the next that you can hide from me."

With that, the mother of evil's shadow faded away, returning to Bakura's own shadow in the process. With his master gone, Bakura looked down at the jewel in his hand, all the while wondering where the other half of it was, and more importantly, how many people was he going to have to kill to get his hands on it?

* * *

After getting zero help from the Infinity League, Janna returned to her bedroom and began to comb through her books in order to find even the smallest bit of information of the cleaved jewel she now owned. After over an hour of going through several of her older tomes, she managed to find at least some bit of info on what she had in her hand.

"The Eyes of the Tiger?" she read out loud before continuing to read the text. "This mystic jewel is said to be the key to a place of great power. If one can join the two pieces of the gem together, then the Eyes of the Tiger would be lead them to a mystical vault filled with not only a vast fortune, but also some of most powerful mystical items on Earth. It is known as...The Cave of Wonders."

Janna was intrigued by what she had read about her latest addition to her collection, though it was unfortunate that she didn't have the other piece to the jewel in her possession. She could only imagine the suffering that she could inflict on Marco when he was least expecting it. Not only that, but perhaps with one of these mystical items she could actuality be of some help to Star and the other heroes of the Infinity League against the forces of darkness.

Janna would never admit it out loud, but she wanted to help the heroes in their never-ending war with the villains that plagued the earth. Sadly, she wasn't a metahuman, nor was she gifted with any sort of skills that would allow her to be of any use to the team, but maybe if she could find the other half of the jewel, then she could use one of the relics and finally be able to do some real good.

'But the question is: Where's the other half?' she thought to herself.

Little did she know that, just outside her house, the other half of the Eyes of The Tiger was closer than she thought. And unfortunately for her, she was going to regret wanting to find that other piece.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners**.

* * *

Mystic Wars

Chapter 3

* * *

Marik sat cross-legged in the center of the runic circle. It took him precious time to make this circle, time, no doubt that Bakura had used to get a head start to wherever he was headed to next. Marik knew that his former ally was no doubt going to try to go for one of the other Millennium Items, and since he had hidden the Rod and no one knew where Shadi was hiding, that meant that Bakura would be going after either Yugi or Ishizu next. Neither was something that the former villain couldn't allow. As he placed the piece of Bakura's clothing onto the ground in front of him. As he began to steady himself for what was about to come next, Karai, Shinigami and the other Foot Clan members who had survived the battle with the El Kathib stood outside of the circle and watched in curiosity as the young spellcaster prepared himself for what was to come next.

"So this will allow you to find Bakura?" Karai asked.

"If I've done this right, then yes," Marik answered.

"'If?'" Shinigami repeated. "You mean you haven't done this before?"

Marik didn't answer that, only looking away and back to the piece of cloth. Shinigami was right, he hadn't attempted a spell like this before. While most tracking spells were simple, the one he was trying to cast was a much stronger form of the spell. Not only would this allow him to find Bakura, but also teleport him directly to him as well. However, the truth was that Marik hadn't even cast simpler tracking spells, and yet here he was attempting to do the more advanced version of it. if he did this wrong then it might send him somewhere else, or even kill him during the trip for that matter. Steeling his nerves, Marik began to form several hand signals as he focused his mind, body, and soul for what was to come next.

As his hand signals became faster, the runic symbols began to glow a bright emerald green, only shining brighter every second. Just then, the piece of clothing began to glow a gold color before a strange blue stream of light began to move upwards in front of the young wizard. The stream then began to expand into a circular form. It was then that the new, mirror shaped creation showed the image of Bakura in the reflection of it. Not only was Marik shocked to see that his spell had worked, but also his spectators as well, all of whom wanted nothing more than to cut that white-haired bastard down after the massacre he had orchestrated.

As Marik and the others watched Bakura on their end of the portal, the young spellcaster noticed the surroundings of the area that he was in. It wasn't some warehouse or secret base, but instead a house in the middle of the suburbs, and from where Bakura was looking, it appeared as though he was gazing up into the bedroom of one of the houses. The very sight sent a chill down his spine as he watched a pair of El Kathib began to rise out of the shadows before crawling up the side of the house and toward the building, all the while their master had a wicked gin on his face. Marik quickly got to his feet and prepared to step through the portal to face his enemy once more, but before he could do so, he noticed Karai getting ready to step across the circle and join him.

"Wait, Karai, stop!" he commanded. "If you step into the circle then I'll lose the connection!"

"That bastard has to pay for the innocent lives he took tonight!" Karai replied harshly. "And you are in no condition to fight him again!"

"I'm the only one who can do this, Karai," Marik reasoned "if I don't stop him now, then he will keep killing until he gets what he wants!"

Karai glowered back at him, but finally relented and stepped back. She knew that Marik was the only one who could face Bakura in combat. Besides, the Foot Clan was in total disarray from the ambush tonight and it would be reckless of her to just run off while leaving her forces in such a state, let lone head into battle without a proper plan of attack against such a powerful adversary.

"You go and you make him pay for what he's done tonight," Karai stated firmly. "That is my final order to you as a member of the Foot Clan!"

Marik nodded in understanding. He may not be a member of the ancient order of ninjas, but he would gladly carry out his final order from the head of his allies, It was then that he remembered that there was still the matter of the Huntsclan that needed to be addressed.

"What about the Huntsclan?" he inquired "when they hear that I haven't left the city, they'll come after all of you"

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Karai assured. "The Huntsclan has no doubt heard about the attack here tonight. I'll tell the envoys they'll send that you were killed during the fight. I'm sure that'll please the Huntsmaster."

"Besides, I'm pretty sure that they were going to kill you the second you stepped out of this building anyways" Shinigami added. "The Huntsmaster isn't exactly the type of guy to just let bygones be bygones."

"Then this is where I guess we part ways," Marik concluded before bowing to Karai. "It was an honor to be a part of your clan."

"Good luck on your mission, Marik," Karai replied as she returned the bow. "I pray that you'll find what you are looking for during this quest."

Marik then turned his attention back toward the portal in front of him. He then began to take several slow steps toward it, still fearing what might happen if he had done something wrong. If everything had been done right then Marik would arrive twenty minutes behind Bakura to the contrasts of time and space. Hopefully, he could reach the house and stop his enemy in time before he could do any harm to whoever lived inside that home, however, he still had to wonder: what exactly did Bakura want with this family in the first place?

* * *

After making her discovery about the object that she now had in her possession, Janna began to look deeper into any information she could find on the jewel and by extension, the Cave of Wonders. Now that she knew what she was looking for, the punk girl began to find several texts and passages from her books regarding the origin of what she now possessed and what it leads to. Thousands of years ago, a great pharaoh and sorcerer of Egypt named Atem created the Cave of Wonders to use as his sanctum. He kept not only a vast array of treasures but also used the Cane of Wonders to seal away some of the most dangerous mystical objects within it. Since the passing of the Pharaoh, the Cave of Wonders had been passed down from one person to the next, all of whom bared the title of Sorcerer Supreme.

Janna had heard stories of the fabled Sorcerer Supreme, a master or mistress of the mystic arts who safeguarded the earth from supernatural threats. The greatest of these evils was Mirage, the mother of all evil. According to her research, Mirage was sealed away in her home dimension of Morbia by the Pharaoh before he died of the wounds he received during his final battle with her. Should Mirage ever return to earth, she would wreak untold havoc and devastation across the planet. The young occultist looked back at her piece of the Eyes of the Tiger and began to wonder as to why this wasn't with the current Sorcerer Supreme. Perhaps he or she had lost it? but that was ridiculous considering that the Master of the Mystic Arts would never lose the keys to his or her home.

This, of course, lead Janna toward another theory: perhaps there was no current Sorcerer Supreme. That was a disturbing thought for Janna. Without someone safeguarding the world from the forces of Mirage, it could mean certain doom. True, there was the Infinity League, but the goth was knew that they would stand no chance against the mother of evil. The earth needed to have a Sorcerer Supreme to protect it from Mirage and other paranormal enemies that lurked in the shadows. It was then that Janna had another thought: maybe she could take its mantel. It was the perfect gig for her, she was knowledgeable in the ways of the occult, she had little fear of what went bump in the night and had spent enough time around Star to know the ins and outs of magic. Besides, she had the perfect place in mind to make as her Sanctum inside of some secret cave in the middle of the desert. Sure she was still young, but so were most of the League members.

Just then, Janna heard something tapping on her bedroom window. Figuring that it was Star trying to get her attention, the punk girl headed over to her window and threw back the curtain to reveal not her magical friend, but a hideous beast that smashed its fist through the glass and attempted to take a swipe at her. Janna managed to duck at the last second and evade the oncoming claws. The creature then crawled through the open window with a second one following close behind it. Janna fell backward after stumbling to the ground from being startled from the monster's attack. She began to crawl back on the ground as the creatures advanced toward her. The second monster let out a snarl as it swung its claws down upon her person. The young occultist managed to roll out of the way of the oncoming claws before jumping back to her feet and making a mad dash toward her bedroom door. Her parents were away on a little weekend getaway, so Janna was alone, but maybe if she could reach her phone that she foolishly forgot in the living room, she could contact Star to aid her.

She threw open the door, she found herself standing face to face with a tall white-haired man with a dark smile on his face. Before Janna could properly react to this second intrusion, the white-haired man suddenly held out his hand and unleashed a torrent of black lightning that sent the teen flying into the wall.

"Good evening, my dear," the intruder greeted. "I assume your wondering as to why I've made this little house call?"

"You're looking for the Eyes of Tiger," Janna quickly concluded.

The white-haired wizard was slightly taken aback by how quickly the girl had figured out what he was after, but he quickly shrugged and continued.

"Smart girl," he said. "Now that you've seen what I can do, I'd had over your half of the Eyes if you don't want a full exhibition of my powers."

"Okay, okay, I'll hand it over!" Janna agreed. "Just don't hurt me!"

"That depends entirely on you," the man stated. "Now bring it to me!"

Janna sheepishly stepped over to her dresser drawer where she pulled open the top drawer. However, rather than pull out the piece of the jewel that she owned, she instead quickly reached into her pet centipede's tank and pulled it out.

"Centipede attack!" she exclaimed as she chucked the venous insect at the spellcaster.

Bakura stumbled backward as he tried to get the centipede off of his person. As his El Kathib tried to help their master, Janna rushed toward the window. she jumped out and grabbed onto the drain pipe. She then began to attempt to shimmy down the pipe down toward the ground. Sadly, her escape plan was short-lived when one of the El Kathib reached out and snatched her up by her arm before tossing back into her room and at the feet, and the mercy, of a now irate Bakura.

"That was a very poor choice on your behalf, child," he informed her in a dark tone. "Now I'm going to ask this once: Where is the jewel?"

"Okay...I'll tell you," Janna finally relented. "It's...up your ass."

Bakura snarled at that remark before blasting the girl with another volley of black lightning, making her cry out in agony. After several seconds, the dark wizard ceased his assault.

"I trust that I've made my point," Bakura stated. "The jewel. Now."

"I'll never give it to you!" Janna shot back defiantly. "It belongs to the Sorcerer Supreme!"

"There is no Sorcerer Supreme," the dark wizard replied. "And I doubt you have what it takes to fill the position."

He then blasted her again to get his point across, this time holding out a few seconds longer than before to make sure she felt the pain on her very insides.

"Not that you'll live long enough," Bakura added. "And now, child...you will die."

A now weakened Janna braced herself for what would more than likely be the attack that would end her. Suddenly, a bright light appeared behind Bakura. The white-haired villain turned away from Janna to see this sudden flash of light in time to see a portal open up before being blasted by a beam of magical energy that sent him flying into Janna's bookcase. The El Kathib lunged at the portal only to be vaporized by another blast. It was then that a figure stepped out of the portal, revealing himself to Bakura as the very man he had fought earlier.

"Marik..." Bakura hissed in anger.

"I don't know what you're doing here, Bakura, but I'm putting a stop to it," Marik said in a firm voice.

He then saw a teenage girl lying badly injured on the ground. Forgetting about Bakura for a moment, Marik went to the girl's side to give her aide.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Who-Who are you?" Janna questioned.

"My name is Marik," he introduced. "Who are you?"

"I'm Janna," the teen replied. "Are you...the Sorcerer Supreme?"

"No...no I'm not," Marik admitted. "But I'm going to keep you safe."

"How touching," Bakura mentioned, now back on his feet. "But tell me, Marik, how do you intend to keep this girl safe when you couldn't keep the Foot Clan safe from me?"

"Let the girl go, Bakura," Marik demanded. "Your fight is with me."

"Indeed it is, but the girl has something that I want," the dark wizard answered. "And I'll gladly go through you to get it!"

"We'll see about that!" Marik proclaimed.

He then unleashed another blast of magical energy, but as the beam traveled toward Bakura, he cast a beam of his own that stopped Marik's attack midway through. The two beams pushed back and forth, all the while the two magic-users poured everything they had into the beams. Sadly, Marik's strength gave out and he struck by Bakura's attack, knocking him to the floor in doing so.

"It was a mistake to come and fight me again so soon after our last battle" Bakura mocked "and now you shall die a - Gah!"

Bakura's speech was interrupted when a tire-iron came flying out of nowhere and struck him across the face. Growling in both pain and anger, he turned to see Janna standing there with a handful of old car parts.

"Eat axle, asshole!" Janna shouted before chucking a car axle at Bakura

The white-haired villain used his magic to wave the oncoming object aside before holding out his hand toward Janna. The young goth was suddenly felt herself being pulled across the room and right into the clutches of her adversary.

"I have had enough of you!" he shouted in her face "now give me the jewel!"

"You'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands, creep!" Janna refused.

"That can be arranged," Bakura said darkly.

Bakura's fingertips then began to glow a dark shade of green. He then placed his fingers on Janna's chest, making her breath suddenly shorten as black veins started to form on her face. The dark wizard then reached into the vest and took out her half of the jewel he was after before dropping Janna to the floor. Marik, still reeling from the hit he took, rushed over to Janna's side.

"What have you done to her?!" Marik demanded.

"It's called the rot. It's a nasty little spell that, as the name suggests, slowly rots the victim from the inside out," Bakura explained. "And I sincerely doubt you're strong enough to cure her with your own magic. However, I have a bit of a proposal for you."

"After everything you've done, now you want to make a deal?" Marik snarled in disgust.

"That was because we had nothing to barter with, but we do now," his former ally answered before holding up the gem to him. "Do you know what this is?"

It took a moment for Marik to mentally register what exactly was in Bakura's hand, but one he recognized it, he gasped before trying to snatch it out of his hand, only to be blasted down to the ground. In Bakura's hand was one of the two pieces of the Eyes the Tiger, a key to the Pharaoh's hidden sanctum, something that even the Ishtar family was unsure was even real. The thought of Bakura now having access to Atem's lost treasures frightened Marik to no end. The young spell caster's feeling of dread grew even stronger as he watched as his old partner reached into his coat and pulled out the other half of the jewel.

"Here's the deal," Bakura began. "To enter the Cave of Wonders I require one who is a 'diamond in the rough' so to speak, but since I only have you available, you'll have to do."

"And what makes you think I'll help you?" Marik spat back.

"Because there are ways to save this girl's life," Bakura replied, gesturing to Janna as he did. "Of course, you could stop my whole plan right here and now if you refuse to help me and either try to take the Eyes away from me or run off and heal to face me again, which would work better in your favor. But then again, that would mean that you'd let the girl die."

Marik mentally cursed himself for being put in this situation. Bakura was right, if he just left now, he could heal and be able to live to fight another day. Even if Bakura kept the Eyes of the Tiger, they would be useless to him. But his enemy was right, if he left now, then the girl would die. If he were his former self, he would leave Janna to her fate without giving it a second thought, but he wasn't that man anymore. So, seeing no other option, Marik carefully the dying teen into his arms. His heroic gesture alone was enough to show that he was willing to concede to Bakura's bargain. Smiling darkly, Bakura had another El Kathib out of the shadows so it could create a portal to their destination.

"Shall we?" he asked.


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Mystic Wars

Chapter 4

* * *

As Marik followed the thief king through the shadow portal, he felt his skin be blasted by a cold night air that he knew all too well. It may not have been Egypt, but the cold desert air helped the young spellcaster quickly figure out that he was somewhere in the middle east. As Marik continued to look out into the endless sea of sand, a soft groan brought him back to the girl dying in his arms. Janna let out another low moan as her skin grew paler while black veins began to form on her face and neck. Marik didn't need to be a spell caster to see that the teen needed help soon or she would surely die.

"If this is a trick, Bakura, then so help me-" Marik attempted to threaten.

"You're in no position to make demands!" the thief king cut him off sharply.

Marik scowled back at his former ally, pulling Janna closer to him in the hopes that his body heat would keep her warm from the cold Arabian night that surrounded them. The young spellcaster hardly knew this girl, but after seeing the courage she showed during the battle with Bakura was enough to prove to him that this girl was more than worth saving. It still took Marik aback that he was even doing this. There was a time where he would've let this girl die so he could reach his own goals. Never did he think that he would risk his own life in order to save some random girl he just met. As the two men stood upon the ocean of sand, Bakura then drew the two pieces of the Eyes of the Tiger out of his jacket and held each piece in hand of his hands. He then placed the two jewels together and formed them into a single scarab. a bright light emitted from the now formed jewel before springing to life in Bakura's hand.

The jeweled insect flew out of the thief king's hands before fluttering about through the air as it circled around the group before zipping toward one of the sand dunes. As it flew toward the dune, the scarab the split into two halves yet again as they flew into opposite sides of the two, burying themselves deep in the sand as they did. Moments later, the ground beneath the two men began to tremble as if they were standing on the epicenter of a mighty earthquake. Marik held Janna closer to him in an attempt to shield her from whatever was coming next. Suddenly, a massive form began to rise out of the sand, twisting a morphing into a massive new shape before them.

Soon, the sand took the shape of a massive head of a tiger with bright glowing eyes that were no doubt where the two pieces of the jewel. The Tiger head looked down upon the group with a steely gaze that shook Marik down to his very soul, while Bakura only grinned darkly at the sight before him. There was no doubt in Marik's mind that this was not only the Guardian of the Cave of Wonders but also the entrance to the very sanctum itself. Marik would be lying to himself if he said that he wasn't in awe of the sight before him. Looking upon the Guardian reminded the young-spell caster of the ancient texts he would read during his studies in his underground home, all the while under the watchful eye of his cruel father. He always imagined in his mind of one day finding the Cave of Wonders, though only to plunder its hidden riches, now he had a greater purpose than his past desires.

"Who disturbs my slumber?" the Guardian demanded in a deep, booming voice.

Bakura turned to Marik before silently gesturing to him to step forward. Marik glared back at his former ally as he approached the giant sand tiger, who looked upon him with contempt in his eyes. Marik had every reason to feel intimidated, for he knew that if the Guardian did not accept him, he would surely be killed on the spot. However, despite knowing that he may be killed, he steadied his heart for Janna's sake and braved what was to come next.

"I am Marik Ishtar," he said to the Guardian.

"Know this...only one may enter here," the Guardian proclaimed. "One whose worth lies within. A diamond in the rough."

With that, the Guardian opened its mouth wide as a flight of stairs formed within its mouth that no doubt lead downward into the Pharaoh's inner sanctum. Marik began to take a step forward, but the relented, much to Bakura's chagrin.

"Guardian...I am not worthy to enter," Marik stated solemnly before gesturing to Janna. "But this girl is sick and will die if I do not find a cure for the magical illness that is killing her."

The Guardian was silent for several, tense seconds, before finally speaking.

"What you seek lies within the sanctum," he began. "But touch nothing but the cure."

Marik nodded to the Guardian in gratitude. He then turned to face Bakura, who still had his dark grin on his face.

"I don't know what you're so happy about, you're not setting a single foot in the cave," the young spellcaster stated.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about me," Bakura replied. "You should be more concerned about the girl right now."

Another groan from Janna made Marik realize that his time was running out to save her. While he knew that that thief king had a plan to get inside the Cave of Wonders, he couldn't do much about it until he saved Janna. So, with one final glare at Bakura, Marik turned around and began to slowly walk toward the gaping mouth of the Cave of Wonders. With a tentative first step, the young wizard began to make his way down the stairs and toward the inner sanctum. As he did, he saw that Janna's skin had become paler as the veins along her face grew darker. If Janna was to live, then Marik had to keep her awake long enough so that he could find the cure.

"Hey, stay awake for me, okay?" he said to her, nudging her as he did.

"Sorry...I'm just so...tired..." Janna weakly answered. "Does it...look bad?"

"No, it's not that bad," Marik answered.

"Heh, liar," the teen joked before coughing.

"Okay, yes, it's bad, but you'll be well soon enough," the former villain assured. "I swore I'd protect you no matter what."

"You sure your not the Sorcerer Supreme?" Janna asked.

"I'm certain," Marik answered. "I'm not worthy of it."

"Don't sell yourself short..." Janna weakly mentioned "I don't know what you did before...but I think this more than makes up for it"

Marik didn't respond to that, only nodding in understanding. Despite what Janna had said about him, he was not worthy to hold the title of sorcerer supreme. Janna didn't know about the things he had done, the lives he destroyed, the people he killed. Marik had lived a life of darkness and death, one that he couldn't simply walk away from. If Janna knew about the pain and destruction that Marik had inflicted upon the world she would be demanding that he let her die right here and now. There was also the matter of Bakura, who no doubt had an idea as to how to get into the Cave of Wonders. Marik had to work fast to cue Janna and figure out a way to stop Bakura before he could set foot inside the Cave of Wonders.

Janna appeared as though she was going to say something more, but instead only coughed before slipping back into subconsciousness. Thankfully, the former villain managed to reach the final step and enter the inner sanctum itself. The moment he did, the torches instantly flickered to life, showing the young spellcaster a massive room filled with a vast assortment of treasures, the likes of which Marik had ever lay eyes upon. Were he a different man, he'd be trying to take what he could before leaving the Cave of Wonders before any traps were set off. It was then that another groan of Janna reminded him why he was here, thus giving him the strength to push past his former temptations and begin his search for the cure to save the girl's life.

* * *

Bakura stood before the Cave of Wonders in silence. The thief king would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a bit in awe at the sight of the sight before him. The Cave of Wonders was said to be filled with the riches of a thousand kings, perhaps even more than the fabled kingdom of the dead, Hamunaptra. But if his plan was to be carried out without a hitch, then he had to be careful. It was then that his shadow morphed into the shape of his master, to which he bowed to as the shadow of Mirage stood before him. The mother of evil looked upon her ancient enemy's hidden sanctuary with a cruel smile on her lips.

"The Cave of Wonders..." Mirage said with a sneer before turning to face her student. "And why are you not inside?"

"Because I have a plan of my own," her apprentice assured. "I forced Marik to go inside instead in order to keep the Cave from vanishing again, but I'll follow him soon enough."

"Good," Mirage stated. "Once you enter the cave, you will find what you seek."

"But how am I to know what you want me to find?" Bakura questioned.

"You will know once you see it," his master assured. "But know this: If you fail to kill the Ishtar, there will be...consequences."

With that, Mirage vanished, leaving Bakura to summon another pair of Shadow-Walkers to open a portal for him to enter.

* * *

As he walked among the lost treasures of the sanctum, Marik couldn't help but take in the sights that surrounded him. Gems, jewels, diamonds, and gold lay before his feet just waiting to be reached out and taken. But the young wizard stood firm as he continued to walk past the hills of treasure, he soon found himself in a room filled not with gold and jewels, but of strange objects. The objects seemed to float upon stone pedestals, no doubt under some form of enchantment. Some of the objects seemed odd to be placed in this room, such as a small, silver coin with Hebrew writings on it. However, there were some items, as a blue cone-shaped hat with stars and moons on it, were obviously things of great power. It then that Marik came upon an object that sent a chill down his spine.

It was a long, golden staff, but it was the shape, as well as its history, that frightened Marik. The top of the staff was in the shape of a cobra with two, dark red, gems for its eyes. Marik had read about this staff, as well as its former owner. It was the staff of Jafar, a powerful mage who once held the title of Sorcerer Supreme. Ages ago, Jafar was a poor child who had pity taken upon him by the previous master of the mystic arts. Under the sorcerer's teachings, Jafar became a powerful spell-caster who soon gain his master's title shortly after his passing. However, while Jafar's talent for magic was great, his will was weak. Mirage found this weakness and exploited it. With the mother of evil whispering in his ear, Jafar managed to gain the favor of the sultan of the fabled kingdom of Agrabah as his royal adviser, to which he went about attempting to rule. Had it not been for the brave efforts of a young thief, Jafar's evil would have spread across the land. From the legends Marik had heard of, after Jafar's death, his cruelty, malice, and power were all transferred into the staff, making it a conduit of evil.

Suddenly, Marik heard the sound of Janna's breath becoming more labored, heaving with each breath she took. She was fading fast and he needed the cure for her now or she'd surely die soon. As Marik set down Janna down in order to search for the cure he sought after. As he did, he failed to notice that something was also hiding in the room. While the former villain was preoccupied with his search, the stranger glided silently through the room with ease, inching closer to the young man with every second. It wasn't until the newcomer was right behind him that Marik could sense that he wasn't alone. Acting quickly, he spun around and faced his enemy with magical energy flowing through his hands. But when Marik saw who had approached him, he was justifiably confused, for this was no man before, but a flying carpet.

The carpet was blue in color, with adornment markings and colors on it. 'Seeing' Marik's magical defenses, the carpet instantly backed off and threw its tassels up as if it was surrendering to him. Marik, still confused by this, lowered his hands and pulled back his magic. The carpet then glided up to him and began to circle around him, as if it was trying to tell him something. Marik then looked upon the wall to the right of him and saw paintings on the wall of the Pharaoh riding atop the very carpet that was now hovering around him.

"You were the Pharaoh's Carpet?" he asked.

The Carpet 'nodded' as a way to say yes.

"Can you help me?" Marik inquired before pointing to Janna. "My friend is dying. The Guardian said that there's a cure here. Please, can you help me find it?"

The Carpet 'nodded' again before suddenly flying away and down toward one of the hallways. While the carpet was away, Marik went to Janna's side, all the while her breath became all the more ragged and labored.

"Did I...did I just imagine a magic carpet?" she murmured.

"No, that was real," Marik confirmed. "And I think it wants to help us."

No sooner had Marik said that did the Carpet reappear, only now it was holding a small, blue hour-glass shaped bottle. The Carpet then handed the bottle to Marik, allowing him to give to Janna to drink. No sooner had she drink the last drop of the liquid did the punk girl's skin color return to normal as Bakura's spell begin to be expelled from her body. Feeling her strength return to her, Janna slowly stood back on her feet, all the while the Carpet flew around the duo.

"Thank you," Marik said to flying rug.

"You know, if I didn't know a magical princess from another dimension, this would be pretty awesome," the young occultist noted.

Before Marik could mentally register what he had heard, a blast of magical energy was fired at the group. Thankfully, the Carpet managed to scoop the two up and fly them out of the way before either was struck. Already knowing as to who had attacked them, Marik turned to see Bakura standing a few feet away from them with his El Khatib standing at his side. Acting quickly, Marik jumped off the Carpet and fired a magical blast of his own, to which Bakura quickly created a shield to deflect the attack. Marik then summoned magical chains that arose from the ground and ensnared the thief king's arms that pulled him to his knees. Bakura's monstrous servants attempted to rush to his aid, only to be vaporized by the young wizard. Before Marik could turn his attention back to his former ally, Bakura had already broken free from his mystic bonds and fired another beam from his hands.

Caught off-guard by the attack, Marik was sent flying into a wall. Bakura fired another magical blast at his downed adversary, but before he was struck, the Carpet flew in and snatched him out of harm's way at the last second. The Carpet then flew back into the air before another magical blast could hit them. Now having the high ground, Marik unleashed a blast of his own that Bakura barley had time to shield himself with a last-minute barrier.

"Enough!" the thief king declared furiously. "I've already got what I wanted!"

It took Marik a moment to realize what his former ally had meant before it suddenly came to him once he saw what Bakura was standing next to. The thief king reached out and took hold of the staff. Upon taking hold of it, a shade, crimson energy began to surge around Bakura's body as his clothes began to change to like those of the staff's previous owner. Marik and Janna stood in horrified awe as Bakura's body surged with power. No sooner had his change been complete did the inside of the Cave of Wonders began to shake violently. The Guardian had no doubt had activated it's fail-safe in order to keep Bakura from making off what he had stolen.

"Carpet, get us out here!" Janna shouted.

"Not so fast!" Bakura denied as he fired a blast of energy from his newly acquired staff.

The magical beam struck the Carpet, cutting deep into its enchanted fabric thus causing it, and it's passengers, to tumble toward the ground. Marik attempted to fight back, but quickly had to put a barrier around himself and Janna as the ceiling of the cave began to come down on them.

"Farewell, Marik!" Bakura mocked as another El Khatib appeared and created a shadow portal. "I shall be sure to give your sister your regards!"

"This isn't over, Bakura!" Marik shouted back as he struggled to keep the barrier up.

Bakura cackled at that before stepping through the portal, leaving his enemy to be buried in the sand and stones that began to crumble down upon him.


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Mystic Wars

Chapter 5

* * *

Sunlight.

That was the first thing Marik saw after digging upwards though the sand for what seemed like forever. He had been crawling upwards through layers upon layers of endless sand with the use of only one arm since his other was holding onto Janna for dear life as he crawled through the deathtrap Bakura had left them in. After the thief king had brought the Cave of Wonders down upon them, Marik acted quickly to save both himself and Janna. He cast a barrier spell to hold back the falling sanctum before getting to work on escaping. His barrier wouldn't be strong enough to hold against the full weight of the desert for long, so he wouldn't have time to create an escape portal, nor could he do a teleportation spell due to not having the time to focus on a place to teleport to.

So, as a last resort, Marik was forced to cast a spell that he was practicing. It was known as the Breath of Silence. A spell that would allow both him and Janna to breathe without the need for oxygen for a short time. The problem was that he had no idea how long they'd have until the spell would wear off, and Janna was still weak and barley awake after being saved from Bakura's rot spell, so he had to work fast. Once he cast the spell on the both of them, he then began to slowly lower the barrier until it was low enough to allow the young spellcaster to begin digging their way up toward the surface.

As Marik gasped for air, he pulled Janna to the surface, allowing her to breathe in the fresh air. It was then that Janna opened her eyes and saw Marik sitting over her with a look of concern in his eyes.

"If your gonna kiss me, I'd advise against it," she stated weakly as she sat up. "I'm a little too young for you"

"Nice to see you too, Janna," the former villain replied as he gave some space to sit up. "We're alive, by the way."

"Damn, and here I was hoping to see what the Ghost Zone would look like," Janna mentioned.

"Right now we have bigger problems," Marik responded. "Bakura took the staff of Jafar and now has enough power to go unchallenged. He's probably headed after the next person on his list, which is either going to be my friend or my sister."

"Why is he after them?" Janna asked. "I thought he just wanted the staff."

"There's a lot going on that you don't know, Janna," Marik stated. "Which is why I'm sending you back home."

"What? No way, dude!" the punk girl denied. "You need me!"

"You almost died twice already because of me!" Marik snapped back. "I can't fight Bakura and protect you at the same time!"

"Excuse me? Who saved your ass with a tire iron when Bakura had you on the ropes?" Janna argued "This may come as a shock to you, but this isn't my first encounter with magic before. I'm friends with Star Butterfly. You know, the magical princess from the Infinity League? I've faced monsters, giant birds and a killer log, so this is just another Tuesday for me. Plus, you're exhausted! You need back-up or your next fight with Bakura could be your last!"

"This isn't up for debate!" Marik shouted. "I'm sending you back home and that's final!"

Before Janna could further argue her case, Marik had already gotten back to his feet and was starting to create a portal back to Janna's home. However, as he did, Marik could hardly keep the portal stable. Janna was right in her assumption. The former villain was exhausted from his constant fights with the thief king and his use of magic. Casting a vast array of spells in such a short amount of time was taxing on a person both physically and mentally if they weren't properly trained. While Marik had been training himself for months in the arcane arts, he never had to cast the number of spells he had in the past twenty-four hours, which meant that his body was starting to feel the side effects of constant casting. Were he better trained and better prepared to face Bakura then this wouldn't be an issue, but because he jumped headfirst into all this, he had given up so much energy without any time to rejuvenate himself.

Before he knew it, Marik's portal shorted out as the young wizard collapsed to the sand in a weary heap before passing out shortly thereafter. Janna quickly ran over to Marik's side in order to try and keep the heat of the desert sun from bearing down on him. Likewise, Janna tucked herself into her jacket to try to keep the sun from burning her skin as well, all the while she tried to figure out a way to get out them out of this deathtrap. It was hard to say how long Marik would be knocked out, and that was assuming that the heat didn't kill the two of them first. Janna didn't have her cell phone on her, though she figured that she wouldn't get much service out here anyway, and it was pretty obvious that they were miles from any sign of civilization in every direction.

"You seem lost," came a sudden voice from behind her.

Janna instantly spun around to face and took up a defensive stance in front of Marik. She may not have any magic, but she'll be damned if she didn't put up a fight for her protector. Standing before her was a tall figure dressed in a long, black cloak and had a pair of camels at his side. Janna had no idea who this stranger or how he was able to sneak up on them, but she wasn't about to go down without a fight.

"It's alright child, I come in peace," the man assured.

"Sure, and the dark cloak is just a fashion statement, right?" the young occultist chided. "I won't let you lay a finger on him!"

"I would never harm Master Marik," the hooded figure replied.

"Wait, how do you know Marik?" Janna demanded.

"I swear that I shall tell you everything back at my camp, but first we must get out of this heat before the sun climbs any higher," the man explained. "You must trust me."

Janna stood her ground while she tried to think of what to do. Was he telling the truth? Why did he call Marik master? So many questions ran through her mind, but one thing was certain: If they didn't get out of this heat then they would surely die. So, against her better judgment, she backed down and allowed the hooded figure to pick up her friend and place him on the back of one of the camels before assisting her to climb up onto the other. Once Janna was secure, the stranger took the reins of both animals and began to lead them back toward his so-called camp, all the while leaving Janna to question if she made the right choice.

* * *

The mountains of Afghanistan were filled with a multitude of deep tunnels, many of which had been used by certain terrorist groups who traversed these tunnels so they could carry out their bloody deeds against their own people and the troops of the country they swore to destroy. But today, these so-called 'warriors of God' were being slain left and right by a new threat. One that did not carry a gun or drop bombs, but wielded the power of the dark arts. This attacker was not a virtuous one, however. In fact, one could argue that this person was far more vile than the ones he was currently slaughtering. He was only killing these fools to test out the new power he now had at his command. The sounds of gunfire and screams of death filled the tunnels as the dark wizard continued to tear his way through the terrorist cell.

Bullets from the terrorists' AK-47's were melted in mid-air before they could even touch Bakura as he slowly advanced toward the last of his prey, like a cat toying with a dying mouse. He raised his staff before them as the red gem eyes of the snake-headed staff began to glow brightly. Just then, a pair of bright beams of crimson lights shot out of the gems, incinerating the last of Bakura's victims into nothing more than a pile of chard bones at his feet. As thief king looked upon his work in pleasure, his shadow morphed into his master.

"Enjoying yourself?" Mirage inquired.

"Quite so," Bakura answered with a smile as he looked upon the bones before him. "This is quite an impressive gift, my master."

"You wield this power well, my apprentice," Mirage noted. "And I take it that the Ishtar is dead, then?"

"Buried alive with the last relics of the Sorcerer Supreme," Bakura added with a dark grin.

"And I trust that you forced him to tell you where he had hidden the Millennium Rod before you disposed of him, yes?" his master inquired.

Bakura glared at his master in silent hatred. During his final battle with Marik, he didn't bother to try to get the location of the Millennium Item out of him, for he knew that his former ally would take that information to his grave no matter how long he tortured him. The mother of evil narrowed her cat-like eyes in disdain for her student.

"So, even in victory, you disappoint me," Mirage chastised.

"The Millennium Rod will reveal itself once I collect more of the Items!" Bakura defended.

"And have you found any of the other Millennium Items?" his master pointed out. "Or have you been just wasting your time killing these pests?"

The white-haired villain's staff began to charge up, but before he could unleash his rage on his master, something suddenly reached out from the shadows of the cave and roughly took hold of his arm. Bakura turned to see one of his own El-Khatib taking hold of him. Before he fully mentally register this sudden betrayal, a second Shadow-Walker materialized on his other side and took hold of his other arm before the two of them forced him to his knees before his master.

"While it pleases me that my teachings of using your hate as a weapon have not fallen on deaf ears, my apprentice, I would remind you of your place," Mirage advised. "Whatever spells you cast, whatever weapons you use, whatever armies you command, they all come from me. Your power is my power, and I can take it away if I so choose."

Bakura growled back at the god-like being but did not act on his anger. For he knew that even with his power greatly increased, he still paled in comparison to his teacher. It had always been this way between them. Ever since he was a child, Mirage had kept much of her magic away from him. She told him that it would make him hate her, and that hatred would sharpen his mind and make him strive to train harder. Mirage beat, manipulated and tortured her young apprentice into becoming the monster that he was today. True, he did despise his teacher and often dreamed of overthrowing his master, but at the same time, he couldn't deny that he held a sort of respect for her as well. After all, she took him in after the loss of his family and gave him the tools to carry out his war on the Pharaoh and his followers. A war that he had spent well beyond a lifetime waging on his enemies for what they had done to him.

He was only a child in a lowly village when the Pharaoh's uncle, Akhenaden, came. Along with his priests and soldiers, they butchered not only the young boy's family but his entire village as well. The reason behind the seemingly mindless massacre was that the Pharaoh's uncle and his fellow wizards needed the blood and souls of the boy's village for a dark ritual that would help them forge seven items of great power: The Millennium Items. The very items he hunted for. With the Millennium Items, the Pharaoh's father, who was the king at the time, used the items to drive back Mirage and her demonic horde when they first came to the kingdom's doorstep.

No more than a street urchin, Bakura wandered aimlessly, learning to stay alive by taking what he could when he could. A way of survival he kept even to this day. But he never forgot what the royal family did to him, and he swore that no matter how long it took, he would see the Pharaoh suffer for what his family had done to him. It was that rage in his heart that called out to Mirage, who took him under her wing and began the long, often painful, road of making him into the dark wizard he was now.

"When I found you, I saw such unmatched potential," Mirage continued. "You held such rage and fury in your heart that it even took me by surprise. I thought that, out of my many apprentices, you would be one that would be worthy enough to stand at my side when I returned to Earth."

She then leaned down to look the thief king in the eye before speaking again.

"And yet, here you are, playing around with the magic I have taught you like a child playing with his father's gun. The only reason I'm not killing you right here and now is that it would take too long to find and teach another apprentice."

It was then that dark green sparks of energy began to form around Mirage's claws.

"However...I believe it's time you had a bit of refresher on some of your lessons."

Bakura did not beg his teacher for mercy, for he knew that would only increase his torment. He instead only braced himself for the onslaught of agony that was about to befall him. However, before Mirage could unleash her fury on her student, she stopped and looked off into the distance, as if she saw something that he could not. It was then that the thief king felt a shift in the air around him, but this was no change in the wind. It was something else. Both master and apprentice sensed a powerful magic calling out to them, but this was not a welcoming call. It was a challenge being issued from afar. The source of the call was that of someone whom Bakura thought he'd never cross paths with again.

"Shadi..." Bakura said with contempt under his breath as the El-Khatib released their hold on him and allowed him to stand.

"So, that desert rat has finally decided to poke his head out of the sand," Mirage sneered.

"But why would he reveal himself to us so recklessly?" her student asked.

"Did you think your destruction of the Cave of Wonders would go unnoticed?" the mother of evil answered. "You caused a ripple in the very fabric of magic itself when you brought the walls of the sanctum of the Sorcerer Supreme crumbling down. No doubt Shadi seeks to stop you before you become any more adept with your newfound power."

"Then he's signed his own death warrant!" Bakura proclaimed. "In challenging me, he's practically delivered both the Millennium Key and Scale to me!"

"I would advise you not to take Shadi and his followers lightly," Mirage mentioned. "They will not hand over the Items so easily."

"I will prove to you that I am worthy of you, my master," the white-haired villain assured.

"I should hope so" the cat-woman replied. "Though if you fail me, pray that Shadi kills you. For if you return to me empty-handed, I will see to it that you beg for your death!"

Mirage faded away, allowing Bakura's shadow to return to normal. Bakura sneered at his henchmen who manhandled him, who only growled back at him before slinking back into the shadows themselves. The hate that Bakura felt burning in his chest was beyond words. He would prove that he was worthy of his master's teaching by not only bringing back the Millennium Items but also Shadi's head to lay at her feet. With that one dark thought running through his mind, he opened a portal and stepped through it, ready to slay the elusive spellcaster.

* * *

Marik's eyes slowly opened as he felt the heat on his skin, but this was not the heat from the desert sun, but from a campfire. As he tried to get his bearings, he heard the soft sound of a woman's voice that song in tune with a guitar.

"_A former portrait of perfection painted without plight. Now Haddonfield's my battlefield your kids won't make it home tonight,_" the voice sang. "_With a madness void of reason I kill with every strike. I'll hunt you day after day, knife after knife._"

The voice in question was coming from Janna, who was sitting cross-legged on the opposite side of Marik by the fire with an acoustic guitar of all things in her hands.

"You know that song is in poor taste, right?" Marik weakly noted as he slowly sat up, referring to the madman and his victims the song was about.

"Oh good, your not dead," the young occultist. "I was starting to wonder if I should leave you for the vultures."

"I'm so glad you cared," Marik sardonically replied as he looked around his new surroundings. "Where are we, anyway?"

The new area that Marik found himself was a tent. It was Arabic in design and adorned with bright colored tapestry in the interior. This was too well-decorated to be some nomad's camp and the fact that Janna was unharmed and that he was still alive meant that they hadn't been abducted raiders either, so who had come to their rescue? As he tried to put together what was going on, he was surprised by Janna, who had come to his side and put her arms around him and embraced him a tight yet caring hug.

"Seriously, though, I'm glad you're not dead," Janna added. "And I'm not a hugger, so you know I'm being serious."

Marik was mildly shocked by the psychical contact. The only two people who had ever held him like this were Odion and Ishizu. The only other touch he ever felt was that of the crack of the whip or the fists of his father. He slowly returned the hug for a brief moment before pulling away.

"Where are we?" he asked. "And where did you get that guitar for that matter?"

"I had our host conjure it up for me to keep occupied while you were out. He's a magic-user like you," the punk girl answered. "He said that he knew you, and it was getting too hot to argue with him. So far, he's been on the up and up, but I'm still a bit spooked by him, to be honest"

Before Marik could further press the girl for any more answers, the fabric doors of the front of the tent were thrown open as a tall figure dressed in a dark cloak stepped inside with food in his hands. Still wary of the stranger and his intentions, Janna stood in front of a still weak Marik to try and protect him the best he could.

"You're awake," the man said. "It's good to see you up, Master Marik."

"Wait..." Marik said, stunned. "It can't be..."

It was then that the cloaked man pulled his hood to reveal himself to the duo. It was a tan-skinned man with a mostly shaved scalp, save for the long ponytail of long black hair that trailed down the back of his head with a pair of gold Ankh earrings. He also had a large tattoo that was covered in Egyptian hieroglyphs on the side of his face. While Janna was unaware as to who the man was, Marik, however, smiled brightly at the sight of the stranger's face.

"Odion!" he cried out in joy as he jumped back to his feet to run over and hug his adopted elder brother.

The former villain and his adopted sibling embraced one another all the while laughing joyous at the sight of one another, leaving Janna confused.

"So, I take you two know each other?" she pointed out.

"Janna, this is my brother, Odion," Marik introduced.

"I apologize for keeping you in the dark about my true identity, child," Odion said with a bow of his head. "I had to see if you were truly a friend to Master Marik or not."

"Well, the fact that I was willing to fight you if you tried anything should've been enough, but whatever, dude," Janna stated. "Why do you call him Master Marik if you're his brother, anyway?"

"Adopted brother, actuality," Odion clarified. "I was a servant to the Ishtar family, but Marik and his sister saw me as their sibling."

"What are you doing out here anyway, Odion?" Marik inquired. "And how did you find us so quickly?"

"Sit by the fire and will tell you everything," his man-servant said.

Marik did as Odion asked and sat by the fire next to Janna. After giving them the food and water he had brought, the tattooed man sat down across from them and began his tale.

"After you left to find yourself, I followed your example and did the same by returning to our homeland to help those in need," Odion began. "I was happy with where I was, but soon I felt someone calling out to me from afar. I traveled to the States and met a woman who reached out to me with her magic. She taught me spells and in return, I became the caretaker of her home."

Marik and Janna were intrigued, yet still nervous as to who this woman was after dealing with one dark wizard already through their adventure together. Sensing their hesitation, Odion spoke up again.

"I assure you that she is not a threat to us, Master Marik," he stated. "In fact, she wanted me to bring you to her, but I could not find you no matter where I traveled across the globe. It wasn't until my teacher felt the destruction of the Cave of Wonders that she managed to locate you. While I'm glad to see that you survived the Cave, why were there in the first place?"

"Some dude named Bakura tried to kill me and forced Marik to go in there for him," Janna replied as she ate her food. "He took some staff and deuced outta there and left us for dead."

"Bakura's returned?" the tattooed man gasped.

"And he now has the staff of Jafar," Marik glumly added. "He's unstoppable, Odion. You know what he's after and what he'll do to Ishizu when he finds her."

"Then we must meet with my teacher at once," Odion declared as he stood up. "Perhaps she will know what to do."

"No, what we need to do is go back to Domino City and protect our sister before Bakura gets to her first," Marik countered as he stood up as well.

"Oh, not this crap again!" Janna groaned. "I don't know if you have some kind of death wish, but your still too weak to fight Bakura. Even if the three of us went to save your sister, we'd be no match for him."

"I'm sorry, but can you even use magic at all?" Odion asked.

"No, but I'm pretty mean if you put a centipede and a tire iron in my hands," the punk girl answered.

"Then you cannot join us, I'm afraid," Odion denied. "It is far too dangerous for you."

"Odion's right, you're going home," Marik added. "Bakura nearly killed you already."

"Nope, not going anywhere," Janna simply declined. "You guys need me. And if you try to send home, I'll trust use a tracking spell to find you again."

"You just said you couldn't use magic," Marik reminded.

"Yeah, but I'm a fast learner," the occultist mentioned. "Plus, I put a camera on you while you were asleep"

"...You what?"

"Look, the point is that all my life I've been on the sidelines, and despite being the very definition of indifference, I wanna help," Janna admitted. "I've come this far with you. Just let me follow you to the end. Let me help you, please."

Marik fumed at the girl's stubbornness. Janna only smirked back at him as he glowered.

"Fine," he finally concerned. "But you will follow my orders to the letter, understand?"

"Yep, got it, boss," she agreed. "But not to start a mutiny or anything, but I'm with Odion. We should meet this mystery woman first. Maybe she knows a way to stop Bakura, and you'll have a chance to get your strength back for the next round."

Marik grumbled at that remark, but he knew that Janna was right. If he faced Bakura now, then not only would he be killed, but he'd also condemning his family and friends to death as well with this suicide mission. So, he decided that would meet with this mysterious woman, hoping that perhaps she would have a way to best the thief king.

"Okay, let's do it," Marik finally said. "Lead the way, Odion."

His brother nodded before creating a portal. As he did, Janna pointed something out.

"Uh, what about all your stuff, dude?" she mentioned.

"It will stay here for the next weary traveler that passes this way," Odion replied as he created the portal. "I already gave the camels to some nomads while I as got gathering food, so there's nothing of true value here for me anymore."

With that, Odion finished summoning the portal. He then stepped aside and gestured to his brother to step inside. With a calming breath, Marik stepped through the portal with Janna following close behind him. Out of the cool air of the desert night, Marik was hit with the dry, humid, foul-smelling air of a swamp. A cacophony of birds and bugs echoed through the marsh and trees as dark clouds blocked out any light that could've shown through. A thick fog surrounded them, concealing most of the swamp around the trio. As Odion closed the portal him after stepping through as well, Marik looked around in order to better understand as to why his adopted sibling had brought them to seemingly the middle of nowhere instead of this woman he spoke of.

It was then that the fog began to split away, almost as if it was commanded to do. As it did, Jana suddenly out an oddly joyful squeal, making Marik turn and face whatever it was she was looking at. The object in question was a massive mansion that seemed to be early 1800's in design and appeared as though it had been kept clean even in such a dismal place like this. However, despite the clean exterior, Marik could something else, something cold, within the mansion's halls.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Janna cheered in joy. "Do you know what this is?"

Marik shook his head, still confused by her reaction to the building.

"This is Gracey Manor, the single most haunted place on the entire planet!" the occultist explained in an excited tone. "It's said that it's home to 999 ghosts! I always wanted to come here since I was five years old! I always begged my parents to take me here, but they always took me to Disneyland instead."

Marik cocked his head in puzzlement at his young friend's joy at the sight of the haunted mansion, but in the short time that he had come to be around Janna, he was starting to understand that she was no ordinary girl. As he looked upon the building, he made a realization as to why his brother had brought to them to this place of death.

"Wait..." Marik said as he turned to look at Odion. "This is where you've been all this time?"

"We must go," Odion said to the others as he lead the way "Madame Leota is expecting us."


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Mystic Wars

Chapter 6

* * *

As Marik stood before the mansion, he felt a strange mix of fear and curiosity within his chest. He could almost feel the haunting aura that seemed to come off from the building. He had never heard of this place before, nor did he understand why Odion would come to a place like this at all. However, while Marik was confused by all this, Janna, on the other hand, could hardly contain her excitement.

"I still can't believe it! I'm standing in front of THE Gracy Manor!" the punk girl squealed in pure joy. "This place is said to be sitting on a spiritual lay-line, hence why all the paranormal activity that's been recorded here over the years has been off the charts!"

"You seem more excited than you should be," Marik noted.

"Are you kidding? I'm in heaven!" Janna cheered. "It's one of the places I've always wanted to visit. It's right up there with the Overlook Hotel in Oregon and the Ravenswood Manor in Paris as places I've always wanted to go to when I die."

"And how did you find this place, brother?" the former villain asked his adopted sibling suspiciously.

"Actuality, it found me," Odion corrected. "When I was helping the poor back in Egypt, Madame Leota called out to me while I slept. At first, I thought that it was only my dreams and nothing more. But eventually, I heeded the call when she told me that you were in great danger. So, I came here and studied magic under her."

"Who is this Madame Leota you keep speaking of, Odion?" Marik questioned.

"Leota was once the most prominent spiritual medium in the 1800s before she mysteriously died in this very mansion during a seance," Janna explained before making a realization. "Wait, is she still here? and she's been teaching you magic?!"

Suddenly, the front gate to the mansion began to slowly creak open for the trio, as if some unseen force had pushed it open. Following the front gate opening, the front door to the mansion slowly opened as well. It was as if the very building it was beckoning them to step inside. Janna was about to run inside to see the inside of the manor, but Marik grabbed her by the arm and forced her to get behind him, still unsure what lay within the manor's walls.

"You have no reason to be afraid, Master Marik," Odion assured. "The spirits shall not harm you so long as you give them no reason to provoke them."

With that, Marik's adopted sibling gestured for the others to follow him. While keeping Janna behind him, Marik and his young companion headed into the mansion, all the while he kept his guard up. The moment they stepped inside the manor, the front doors closed behind them before suddenly locking on their own. This, of course, put Marik on edge. He glanced sharply back over to Odion, who remained calm.

"Do not despair, Master Marik," he said. "This mansion is guarded by a barrier placed by Madame Leota in order to keep demons and dark spirits from entering here. The locks on the door were meant to reactivate the barrier after letting us in."

"So, all the ghosts are good?" Janna reasoned before adding "Lame!"

"Well...not all of them are good," the man-servant reaffirmed. "There is one of among them that can be...volatile. Granted, she's not evil per-say, just unstable. I would advise you never to go into the attic, for that is her domain. But to answer your question, Janna, yes, the ghosts who reside here are good spirits."

"So you keep saying..." Marik muttered under his breath.

It was then that a flurry of whispers suddenly echoed throughout halls of the main entrance of the mansion, sending a chill down Marik's spine in doing so. However, the only chill Janna got was one of excitement.

"They don't know what to make of you yet," Marik's brother explained. "They know me, but they are wary of newcomers."

"Perhaps we should give them a tour?" a sudden booming voice echoed throughout the room. "I'm sure they could become well-antiquated with us that way."

Marik instantly got into a fighting stance as he formed magical symbols in his hands when he heard the unknown voice. Janna smiled like a madwoman at the voice, ecstatic that she was being spoken to by a ghost. Again, Odion seemed unfazed by the paranormal occurrences that surrounded them.

"That won't be necessary," Odion denied simply. "Madame Leota wishes to see us at once."

"Oh, well," the voice sighed. "Another time, perhaps."

One of the mansion's hallway's lit up with candlelight that hung from its walls, a clear indication that the spirits wanted them to follow this path. Again, with Odion leading the way, the trio headed further into the mansion. As they did, Janna took in all the sights around her, trying, and failing, to contain her excitement. Though the air was deathly still, the punk girl could almost feel the energy of the manor in the musty halls. To say that Janna was obsessed would be an understatement. Ever since she was a little girl, she was interested in the occult, and Gracy Manor was her white whale. The one place she always wanted to visit, or even stay, but could never reach it. Until now, that is. In her online forums, there were hundreds of theories as to the origin of the haunted mansion and why so much paranormal activity had been recorded there for years, yet no one had a definitive answer for manor's mysterious past.

What was known was that the mansion was built in 1869 under the guidance of the manor's owner, Edward Gracy. He himself was a mystery since little could be found about him in the pages of history. All that was known about Gracy was that he a wealthy plantation owner who moved from Arkansas to Louisiana to expand his spice business further south. It was also known that Gracy was fascinated by the occult and would hold several seances at his estate, sometimes even throwing parties for his guests to join him in summoning ghosts alongside him. This was where Madame Leota came in, and with her, when things became shrouded in mystery. Gracy was a fan of the medium and would often send her letters asking her to hold a session at his manor. At first, she refused Gracy's requests, not wanting to use her abilities as some cheap parlor trick. It was documented that Leota used her connection to the spirit world as a way to comfort those who had lost loved ones.

Finally, after receiving several letters from Master Gracy for three months straight, the medium finally agreed to meet with him at his home. What she did not expect, however, was that when she arrived at Gracy Manor, she treated as a guest of honor at a gala he was holding. What followed next was never fully confirmed, though there were certainly some wild theories that had been thrown around over the years. Some say that Leota, angered that Gracy wanted to use her powers as some cheap parlor trick to entertain his guests, cursed him and his party-goers to the spirit world. Others say that Leota relented and held a private seance for Master Gracy and his fiance, Constance Hatchaway, a woman widowed fives over now. During the seance, Constance suddenly attacked her soon to be husband with a hatchet, decapitating him with a single blow. But in Constance's bloody attack, she failed to realize what she had done, for she had disrupted Leota's spiritual connection, allowing a horde of demons and dark spirits to break through and proceed to massacre every one within the manor. Whatever the reason, the next day, a friend of Gracy arrived and found the mansion empty, without a trace of where Edward Gracy, his fiance, Madame Leota, or the other guests that night had gone to.

But now, not only was Janna here but also about to meet Madame Leota herself. She could finally find out the truth behind the mansion from the very woman who was there that night when everyone vanished. As the group continued to walk, the young occultist was lagging behind, too busy taking in all the sights of the mansion around her to bother to keep up with Marik and Odion. It was then that Janna's wandering eye noticed an adjutant hallway. The hallway looked no different than the one she currently standing in, but some sort of force seemed to be pulling her toward it. As she stopped and gazed into the seemingly endless hallway, she saw a single candelabra materialize down the hall, swaying side to side, as if it was trying to beckon her to step into the hallway. However, before she could take a single step, she felt a hand reach out and take hold of her shoulder, snapping her back to reality. She looked up and saw Odion standing over her with a concerned look in his eye.

"I would advise against going down that particular hallway, Ms. Janna," Odion warned. "You may never come back if you do."

"I'll remember that," Janna replied.

"How much further until we reach this Madame Leota?" Marik asked, trying his best to hide his impatience.

"It depends," Odion answered. "The mansion changes every so often on a whim. But rest assured, we will meet her soon enough."

"How can anyone find their way in a place like this?" his brother asked.

"It does take some time to navigate this mansion, but once you stay here long enough, you'll be able to walk these halls without fear of getting lost," Odion replied.

"I don't plan on staying here," Marik denied.

"I do," Janna chimed in with a smile.

"You know..." the voice from before suddenly spoke up. "We have 999 happy haunts living here, but there's always room for one more. Any volunteers?"

Janna began to raise her hand up, only for Marik to quickly slap it back down.

The trio then continued their trek through the seemingly never-ending halls of the mansion. As they did, Marik could almost feel the eyes of the undead upon him, making him feel all the more on edge than he already was. In his mind, he was ashamed himself, for he failed to stop Bakura. Even now, his thoughts raced with what the thief king was doing now that his powers had been increased after stealing the staff of Jafar. He wanted nothing more than to head back out into the world and stop him before he could harm anyone else in his mad quest for the Millennium items. He could only hope that this medium could aide in their fight against Bakura. However, he had to wonder what these ghosts could offer him in terms of battling his former ally. He then glanced over to his adopted sibling with a suspicious look in his eyes, still wondering if Odion hadn't been put under the spell of whatever power lingered in this mansion.

"So, why is this Madame Leota so dead-set on meeting me?" he inquired before adding "No pun intended, of course."

"As I said, she wanted to help you," Odion reaffirmed. "She believes that you are in great danger. And now that Bakura has returned, it would seem that her fears were warranted."

"Do you trust her?" Marik asked bluntly.

"Admittedly, not at first," his brother replied. "When "When I first arrived here, I thought that I must have gone mad to enter a place such as this. Yet, over time, Madame Leota showed that she can be someone whom we can trust. I promise you that she only wants to help us."

"I still have my doubts, brother," the young spell-caster admitted. "...But I trust your judgment. So, I'll hear her out."

"Good" Odion acknowledged as he stopped in front of a door. "Because we're here."

With a twist of the doorknob, Odion opened the door and allowed his companions to step inside. Once they did, they found a sight that took Marik aback and only further excited Janna. All around the room, there were instruments that seemed to play all by themselves as they floated around the room while other items, such as tarot cards, voodoo dolls, and other spiritual objects danced in the air. But there, sitting on a round table in the center of the room, was something that drew Marik and Janna's attention the most. It was a crystal ball, but within it was the ghostly image of a woman's head. Needless to say, this greatly unsettled the former villain, though the same could not be said for his young sidekick. The head in the crystal ball was turned around from them, seemingly unaware of her guests, at least, the living ones.

"Serpents and spiders, tail of a rat, call on the spirits, where ever they're at," the head chanted. "Rap on a table, it's time to respond, send us a message from somewhere beyond."

"Oh my god..." Janna gasped. "It's her!"

The face in the crystal ball stopped it's chanting as she turned her attention toward her new guests. Marik instinctively took a step back, still unsure what to make of this spectral being.

"Welcome, Marik Ishtar," she greeted. "I am glad to see that you are safe."

"You must be Madame Leota," Marik surmised. "I wasn't expecting...all this."

"My astral form is a shock to be sure, but rest assured, I am no threat to you or your young ward," the ghostly medium informed him.

"First off, Janna is not my ward," the former villain quickly corrected. "And secondly, if I'm being honest, I still don't what to make of you. But Odion says that he trusts you, so I'll listen to what you have to say."

"That is all I ask," the medium agreed.

"Oh! My! God!" Janna shouted as she ran up to the table. "It's an honor to meet you Miss Madame Leota Ma'am! You're like a rock star in the occult! I have so many questions!"

"My, you are an enthusiastic one," Leota noted. "But you must save your questions for another time. It's Marik that I must speak with now."

The former villain stepped forward so that the face in the crystal ball could speak with him.

"I must say that it has been hard to track you down," Leota stated. "Even when I sensed the Cave of Wonders' destruction, I thought it was a long shot that you were there."

"Why do you want to see me at all?" Marik demanded.

"As I'm sure Odion has already told you, I only wish to aide you in the coming battle," the phantom replied. "We must act quickly if we are to stop Mirage."

"Mirage?" Janna repeated questioningly.

Rather than answer her question right away, Leota's crystal ball began to glow a bright green as she began to float off of the table. Suddenly, the room began to come alive with a swirling array of colors that soon began to morph into images that showed the trio a series of smoky images that flew around the room. They were images three brightly dressed witches that flew upon their broomsticks, a headless horseman that cackled madly as it rode across the room, and a massive, winged demon that sat atop a mountain as wicked spirits flew around it.

"Since the dawn of time, the world has been plagued by creatures that lurked in the darkness," Leota began.

It was then that the images began to swirl into one before reforming into a giant image of a cat-woman with piercing green eyes and dressed in Egyptian clothing.

"But few terrorized the world of man more than Mirage," she continued. "She is the mother of all evil. Alongside her children and the acolytes who served her, she spread chaos and death across the land. And while many stood against her, few survived her wrath."

Then, another image was created. But unlike the nightmares that had been conjured before, it was a bright, proud image of a man with strange colored hair and dressed in robes and gold. The image of Mirage snarled at the other image while its enemy stood tall and unwavering.

"But then, a young pharaoh stepped forth to oppose the mother of evil after his father was slain by her hand," the medium furthered. "But this was no ordinary man, for he was a prodigy in the ways of magic. A master of the mystic arts."

"The Sorcerer Supreme..." Janna said in amazement under her breath.

The images of Mirage and the pharaoh began to clash, sending bolts of mystic energy at one another while Leota continued her tale.

"The two clashed many times with neither one getting the upper hand," she said. "That was until the pharaoh planned a trap for his enemy. Using the seven Millennium Items, he banished Mirage back to her home dimension of Morbia while casting her children off to a distant world so they could never be able to free their mother."

The image of the Pharaoh then collapsed to the ground, with blood dripping from a wound.

"But his moment of triumph was sadly short-lived," Leota said. "Though he had saved the world from Mirage's evil, the battle cost the pharaoh his life."

The image of the dead pharaoh blew away before reforming into various images of men and women who fought against demons, monsters and dark spell casters all across time.

"From then on, the title of Sorcerer Supreme had been passed down through the ages from one person to the next," the medium explained. "It was an esteemed linage that I was a part of."

"Wait..." Marik said as he came to a sudden realization. "You're the current Sorcerer Supreme?!"

"No, since my death I no longer hold that title," Leota corrected. "There has been no one to replace me as Sorcerer Supreme, and now that Mirage's apprentice has begun to hunt for the Millennium Items, we need a new Master of the Mystic Arts now more than ever."

"Gonna take a wild guess and say that if Bakura finds all of these Millennium Items, that's bad, right?" Janna reasoned.

"If all seven items are brought together again, Mirage can be freed from Morbia," Leota affirmed. "Should that ever happen...she will bring about mankind's blackest night."

"But how can we stop Bakura?" Marik questioned. "He already has two Millennium Items and now wields the staff of Jafar!"

"As I said before, the time has come for the earth to have a new Sorcerer Supreme," the ghost reminded. "You, Marik Ishtar, are the one I have chosen to take my place"

Janna and Odion's eyes fell upon a very stunned Marik, who was speechless upon hearing those words. He had no idea how to respond to such a request made by the spectral being. As everyone waited with bated breath, Marik finally gave his answer.

"I'm sorry, but...no," he denied. "I can't accept it."

"Master Marik, please reconsider," Odion advised. "This is a great honor."

"And one that I'm not worthy of," his adopted sibling replied before looking back to Leota. "Why did you choose me in the first place?"

"You are an Ishtar, and as such, you are well-adapted in harnessing the power of magic," the medium explained. "I tried finding you sooner, but you cut yourself from magic after giving up the Millennium Rod and were impossible to locate. However, when you started using magic on your own, I could sense you again, but only a few blips here and there."

"So that's why you reached out to Odion," Marik gathered. "You knew that he could find me."

"Exactly," Leota confirmed. "Please Marik, the world needs you. This is your destiny."

"The last time I thought that I had a destiny, I murdered my father," Marik stated firmly.

"Wait, what?" Janna asked, confused.

"You heard me," Marik said sharply as he advanced toward the young goth, thus making her back up. "When I was a child, I stabbed my father to death like that Micheal Myers freak you seem to idolize with the Millennium Rod. Oh, but I didn't stop there. Oh no, I was just getting started. In my time as the leader of the Rare Hunters, I had over 200 people murdered by my orders, including women and children."

He kept walking toward a now scared Janna as she found herself being backed up against the wall. Marik then slammed his hand over her as he leaned in to glower at her directly in the eye.

"I told you that I'm not a hero," he growled. "And you need to stop thinking that I am."

"Marik..." Odion said sternly.

"So, you see, Madame Leota," the former villain said as he turned to face the crystal ball. "I'm not worthy of being Sorcerer Supreme."

The others in the room were clearly saddened by Marik's choice to refuse the title of the Master of the Mystic Arts. But regardless of how they felt, the young spell-caster stood firm in denying this honor, for he felt that all of his past sins were too great for him to be anything more than he already was. Not only that, but his defeat at Bakura's hands had shown him that he was no match for him now. But Leota was right. The world needed the Sorcerer Supreme again, and he had just the person in mind who could be worthy of that title.

"There could be another, better, choice to take your place instead," he said.

"And who might that be?" Leota inquired.

"The same person I entrusted to keep the Millennium Rod safe," the former villain answered. "Her name is Yūko Ichihara. She's a powerful witch who lives in Japan. I could be able to convince her to take on the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme."

"I know of Yūko," the ghostly medium said. "That woman is an arrogant drunk, but she does wield great power. Can it be done?"

"I'm not sure, but Yūko is our best option to defeat Bakura," Marik said. "The problem is that I still don't have the strength to create a portal to her home, and Odion doesn't know where she lives."

"Then allow me to assist you," Leota offered.

With that, the medium summoned a green portal in front of the trio. Marik and Odion approached it, but Janna remained where she stood.

"Aren't you coming?" Marik asked.

"I'm...going to sit this one out," Janna replied hesitantly at first. "Besides, I wanna have a chance to hang with my idol alone for a bit."

"The girl will be well protected here," Leota promised. "And one more thing..."

Suddenly, a bottle of saki materialized in Marik's hand.

"Something to bribe Yūko with," she explained. "I pray that your mission will be successful."

Marik nodded in understanding before looking back at his young friend, who looked away. Shame once again took hold of Marik as he saw the hurt and betrayal in her eyes. With a slow look away of his own, Marik and his adopted sibling stepped through the portal that would take them to Japan, hoping that they would return with the champion who would save them all.


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Mystic Wars

Chapter 7

* * *

"This is the place?" Odion asked as the duo stood in front of the house.

Marik nodded to his adopted sibling. After stepping through the portal, the two spellcasters found themselves standing before a small, seemingly rundown house in the middle of the streets of Tokyo. According to Marik, this was the home of Yūko Ichihara, the witch they had hoped to bring back to Gracy Manor so that she could take Madame Leota's place as Sorcerer Supreme. However, that may be a task easier said than done. Yūko was a notorious alcoholic and despite all her great power, she was incredibly lazy. Hopefully, the bottle of saki Marik and Odion had brought with them would at least grant them an audience with her.

"And, how exactly do you know this woman, again?" Odion inquired.

"After Yugi's other self freed me from my darker side's hold over me, I wanted nothing more to do with the Millennium Rod. It reminded me too much of all the sins I had committed," his adopted sibling began solemnly. "But I couldn't simply just toss the Rod away. I feared that someone may find it and use it for their own dark gains. I knew it had to be kept somewhere safe. More importantly, it needed to be guarded by someone who was not only powerful but could also resist the desire to use the Rod themselves as well."

"That still doesn't answer my question," Odion persisted.

"I figured I wouldn't have to," Marik replied. "She was on that list you and I made years ago."

Ah yes, how could the man-servant forget? Back when he served his adopted brother during his time as the leader of the Rare Hunters, they had created a list of people of interest whom they believed not only held mystical items but were great mystics themselves. Yūko was one such person on the list. However, because she was so powerful and that Marik had decided to focus on collecting the Millennium items, they turned their attention away from the sorceress.

"I couldn't think of anyone else better suited to keep the Rod safe," the former villain continued.

"You mean, safe from you?" Odion surmised.

Marik didn't answer that question, but his silence said more than enough. Marik was frightened by falling back to his old ways, so much so that he would do anything to stop himself should he slip back into that which once took over his life. Odion couldn't blame his brother for thinking in such a fashion, for he knew that Marik's mind weighed heavy with all the past atrocities he committed during his time as the ruthless leader of the Rare Hunters. However, despite Marik's denial, Odion still believed that his brother was the true heir to the mantle of the Master of the Mystic Arts. But before he could try to convince his adopted sibling to reconsider his course of action, the front door of the house slowly opened up. From the doorway, the siblings saw two young girls, one with pink hair and the other with blue, dressed in maid uniforms, standing before them with bright smiles on their faces.

"Our lady has been waiting for you," they greeted happily in unison.

Despite the warm greeting, Marik and his elder brother both began to feel a sense of foreboding. However, they were not about to turn tails and run, not when they were so close to meeting with Yūko. so, steeling their nerves, they made their way toward the house.

* * *

Janna was in her own, twisted version of heaven as she combed through the books in the mansion's seance room. While asking a new question every two minutes to the former Sorcerer Supreme, the occult girl looked through tomb upon tomb of forgotten lore that resided only within the walls of the mansion. She would flip through one book in an attempt to read one, only for her excitement to overtake her and make her pull out another book from the shelf, start to read it and repeat the process. Madame Leota was thankfully calm and patient with the young girl and her eagerness, though the ghostly medium suspected that she was covering up her true feelings regarding what had happened with Marik earlier.

"Madame Leota," Janna suddenly spoke up. "I have a question I've been meaning to ask you."

"You seem to have plenty of those," Leota playfully teased. "But please, continue, child."

"Well, there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," Janna began. "...How did you die?"

The ghostly medium went silent for a moment, making the punk girl fear that she had angered her host. But before she could apologize, Leota finally spoke.

"To tell the story of my death is to tell the tragic history of this house," she replied solemnly. "...and of my greatest sin."

Janna turned away from the book she had in her hand and approached the table that the crystal ball was sitting on before Leota began her tale.

"As I'm sure you've probably researched, Master Gracy did contact me for a seance, but I was not aware that it was an overly lavished ball," Leota began. "However, though I was angered by the thought of having my powers used as some cheap party trick, I kept my rage in check. I prepared to perform a seance for Master Gracy and several of his guests when disaster struck."

"What happened?" Janna inquired.

"Just as I was making a connection to the afterlife, I was interrupted by my greatest failure," the ghostly medium answered. "My former apprentice."

Janna gasped at that revelation. There was no record of Leota traveling with someone. Then again, there was no mention of her being the Master of the Mystic Arts either. As the occult loving teen was taking this in, the medium continued her tale.

"I found him on the streets of New Orleans, starving and alone," she said. "I took pity on him and eventually made him my apprentice. He was a prodigy in the ways of magic, but there was a darkness inside him that I tried my best to quell. In the end, I cast him out. I should have killed him, but I saw him too much as the son I never had to bring myself to do the right thing. Now alone and having the knowledge to carry out his darkest desires, he began a killing spree the likes unheard of. We clashed many times, but either he would escape or I would lose my nerve at the last moment whenever I thought back to raising him and let him get away."

"What did he do?" Janna asked.

"That night he came to Gracy Manor, he attacked me during the seance and caused a mystic backlash that killed everyone, including myself, in the mansion," Leota explained.

"So, that's why this place is filled with ghosts?" the teen reasoned.

"Indeed," the medium confirmed. "What my former student did not take into account, however, was that I still possessed most of my powers in my astral form. With everything I had, I finally killed him and cast his soul into Hell where it belonged."

"And that was the end of him?" Janna gathered.

"I wish that were true..." Leota sadly answered. "In life, my former student was a monster, but in death, he became something far worse. I pray you and Marik never encounter him."

"Shouldn't be too hard for Marik," Janna commented sharply. "Since he's just gonna grab this Yūko chick to take your place and bail after that."

It was then that Leota saw her opening to address what was bothering the young mortal and took it.

"What Marik said must have greatly upset you," she surmised.

"Well, how could it not?" Janna replied. "The guy just told me he was literally a mass murderer. Kinda hard to overlook that."

"True, but tell me my dear: Why did you follow him before you knew that?" Leota inquired.

"He...saved my life from Bakura," Janna slowly admitted. "He didn't even know me and he swore that he was going to keep me safe."

"It's understandable that your faith in him has wavered. Just as his own faith in himself as wavered," the ghost said. "But it is important for you two to stay together."

"Did you not just tell me about how your former apprentice killed you?" Janna pointed out.

"That mistake was of my own doing," Leota addressed. "But you can be a balance for Marik. He thinks he can never escape the darkness inside him, but you can help him see the hero he can truly be."

"You're not saying I should date him, are you?" Janna commented. "You are aware that I'm under-aged, right?"

"I'm not saying you should be his lover," the medium sharply corrected. "What I'm saying is that you can a voice of reason. A beacon to shine through the shadows of his soul."

"So, I don't have to date him? Okay, phew," the punk said in relief. "I know how you pre-21st century guys used to love marrying off younger girls to older dudes."

"You are a...quite unique for a girl for your age, Janna" Leota noted. "What made you this way?"

"You mean awesome?" Janna countered. "Well they always say that only the strange and unusual can have a taste of the paranormal, and I myself am both strange and unusual."

Despite her cool demeanor, Janna was honestly still feeling conflicted about Marik. True, he did save her life three times in a row, but could that be enough to overlook his past sins? Janna wasn't exactly an angel herself, but she didn't murder people or commit acts of terrorism as Marik had apparently done. However, whenever she looked into her friend's eyes, even as he tried to threaten her, she could see the pain and guilt he felt from everything he had done in his life. It wasn't like she hadn't had her fair share of friends with a mean streak to them, so to speak. From the knitting gangster, Needles, to the demon prince Tom, she was no stranger to bad guys as friends. So, perhaps she could help Marik in his quest to be a better person, despite his protests against it.

It was then that an idea sparked in Janna's mind.

"Hey, Leota," she began. "Can you send me back to the desert real quick?"

"Why would you want that?" the ghostly medium inquired.

"I think there might be something there that'll give Marik an edge," the occult girl replied. "But I'm going to need a shovel and a little help to get it."

* * *

As Bakura stepped through the portal, he could feel the magical signal that was calling out to him grow stronger. Shadi's mystical call for battle had brought him back to Egypt, though it was somewhere that he was unfamiliar with. It was a large underground tomb, one that he had never encountered before, even in his past life as the king of thieves. If the servant of evil had to guess as to why that was, it was more than likely because it was usually safeguarded by multiple spells and enchantments in order to hide it from Bakura and his master. So, why did Shadi lure the thief king to the place that he was trying to hide for so long from him? Bakura's best guess was that the guardian wanted to face him on his home ground.

The only light within the tomb came from the lit torches that were mounted on the columns down the hallway that Bakura now walked through as he followed his enemy's mystic call to challenge him. The dark wizard chuckled to himself, thinking that if he found and destroyed the Cave of Wonders sooner, then he would've been able to step into Shadi's sanctum sooner. However, he knew that his master was watching him, and he knew that he could not return to him empty-handed again, or else he would receive the full extent of her wrath. Preparing for his coming battle, Bakura's clothing began to morph into the robes similar to that of his staff's previous owner as he felt a surge of dark magical energy course through his veins.

It wasn't before long that he found himself in a massive chamber that was covered in hieroglyphs depicting the final battle between the Pharaoh and Mirage. And there, in the center of the chamber, was a massive sarcophagus with seven slots on the lid, all shaped like the seven items that the villainous spellcaster coveted. This was no doubt the sealed doorway to his master's home dimension of Morbia. It was then that Bakura found himself surrounded by a crowd of white-robed men and women before Shadi appeared seemingly out of the shadows.

"My, my, Shadi, I must say this is a surprise," the dark wizard began. "And to what do I owe such an honor?"

"You destroyed the pharaoh's sanctum, Bakura," Shadi stated. "Did you think that you could just be allowed to escape after committing such heresy and live?"

"Who committed the true heresy, though?" the thief king posed. "Me, for destroying it, or you, for not being there to stop me?"

Shadi sneered at that remark, making Bakura smirk at the fact that he had clearly touched a nerve. Rather than answer him, the guardian of the tomb's hands summoned Egyptian symbols of energy as he took a defensive stance. Following suit with their leader, Shadi's clan also began to channel their own magic as they surrounded the dark wizard. However, rather than feel threatened at the thought of being outnumbered, he only grinned at the oncoming army of wizards, welcoming the challenge. Suddenly, the sounds of screams echoed throughout the halls of the tomb. As the cries continued, Shadi and his followers realized all too late that their tomb had been infiltrated by Mirage's El-Khatib.

"What? You didn't think that I'd come alone, did you?" Bakura mocked before blasting magic from his staff.

* * *

While it may appear like a normal home, Marik knew better. Shortly after regaining control of his body, he came to this very house seeking a way to keep himself from turning back to the monster he once was. It was within this very house that Yūko aided him in his quest for redemption when she swore to safeguard the Millennium Rod. After leaving the last piece of his inner demon behind, Marik departed into the world to try and find himself again, eventually finding his way to the Foot Clan. And now, in seemingly a strange twist of events, he found himself back where his journey began.

As the twin beings, who were named Maru and Moro, lead the former villain and his adoptive sibling further into the house, Marik spotted a young man wearing a black school uniform and glasses in the kitchen making tea, though it was clear by the irate look in the teen's eyes that he was not happy about carrying out this task. The boy was not known to Marik, but he assumed that Yūko had ensnared him as her new servant, no doubt in exchange for relieving the boy of some curse or spell that he was under. It wasn't before long that the brothers were lead into a large room that was filled with opium smoke, making them cough from it.

And there, lying casually on a sofa, was Yūko. The witch was dressed in a brightly colored, if loose-fitting, kimono. Her skin was pale like that of a porcelain doll. Her raven black hair was long and traveled all the way down to her feet. The gaze from her deep brown eyes was almost alluring to the two men as she gave them a sly, inviting smile to them. It was almost as if she was expecting their arrival.

"Well, well, look who's come back," she said. "And you've brought a friend this time."

"Yūko," Marik said as he held up the saki bottle. "We've come to bargain."

"Well, who am I to say no to such an offer?" the witch replied.

It was at that same time that the door to the adjacent room slide open to reveal the young man the spellcaster had seen earlier now carrying a tray of tea.

"Ah, Watanuki, perfect timing," Yuko said to her servant. "Would you be as so kind as to bring us some cups for this fine saki these gentlemen brought me?"

"Wait, you just said that you wanted tea," Watanuki pointed out.

"Yes, but saki's a much better beverage," the witch informed sweetly. "So, be a dear and bring in the cups, please."

Watanuki grumbled a few less than kind words as he turned and left to grab the proper cups for the alcoholic witch. Once the boy had left, Marik and Odion sat down on the floor in from Yūko before the former villain handed her the bottle of saki.

"I'll get right to it," Yūko said. "You've returned to try to convince me to be the next Sorcerer Supreme."

The brothers were shocked by Yūko's words. How could she have known about their search? Or Leota for that matter?

"How did you-" Odion attempted to ask.

"I've been keeping my eyes on this one," the witch answered, gesturing to Marik as she did. "I've watched him time and again run from his destiny as he hid among the shadows like a coward."

"How dare you speak ill of Master Marik?!" the tattooed man snapped.

"Odion," his adopted sibling said, getting him to stand down before looking back at Yūko. "I don't think you understand. Bakura has returned. He's taken possession of the Staff of Jafar and has destroyed the Cave of Wonders. I need you to meet with the previous Sorcerer Supreme so you can take on the mantle and defeat Bakura."

"And keep Mirage from escaping Morbia," Yūko finished.

"Yes," the former villain. "So, will you do it?"

"...No," Yūko denied simply. "I won't."

Again, shock overtook the two men. Yūko was their best and only shot of defeating Bakura and halt Mirage's arrival. If she refused to take on the title of Master of the Mystic Arts, then who would?

"Don't you understand?" Marik chastised. "Bakura's getting closer to releasing Mirage and you're the only one strong enough to stop him! You're our last hope!"

"I don't think you understand, Marik," the saki loving spellcaster elaborated. "Even if I wanted to take on the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme, I'm not as strong as I once was."

"What do you mean?" Odion asked.

"Despite my glamours looks, I'm...well, let's say, getting on in years," Yūko answered. "Don't get me wrong, I can still pack a punch when the moment calls for it. But every wish I've been granting lately has been taking its toll on me. Honestly, I don't think I can take on Bakura even if I wanted to. I may have been able to beat him before, but now that he's absorbed the dark magic from Jafar's staff, he's simply too much for me now."

Marik was silently for several moments, taking in deep, anger-fueled breaths as he did. Suddenly, in a burst a fiery, unbridled rage, the young wizard took the bottle of saki and hurled into the wall, shattering it upon with it in the process.

"Dammit!" he exclaimed furiously. "That's it! It's over! There's no one left who can stop Bakura!"

"I wouldn't say that," Yūko calmly denied. "There is one person left."

"Oh, yeah? Who?" Marik angrily demanded.

"Turn around," the witch advised.

With an annoyed growl, Marik turned to see who or what could stop their enemy. There, looking back at him, was his reflection in the mirror.

"You can't be serious," he said. "I'm not worthy of the title. Besides, Bakura's stronger than me and I'm still recovering from the fights we had."

"You're an Ishtar, are you not? The Pharaoh's elite guards, right?" Yūko reminded him. "Your connection to magic grows stronger every time you use it. And as for not being worthy, you're not the first person to think they were not worthy of the mantle."

Yūko then stood up from her seat and approached the young man before placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I think it's time for you to stop running from who you were and become the person that you were meant to be," she advised. "Yes, you did horrendous things in your life, but it's not too late to redeem yourself, Marik. I've spent ages of looking into thousands of timelines, and all of them were leading to you becoming someone I could never be."

Marik was silent as he heard her words. Could he do really do it? could he really become the new Master of The Mystic Arts? He was scared that if he was granted that much power, he would slip up and become the monster that he was running from again. But if he didn't stand against the mother of evil and her apprentice, who would? He still felt as though he was not worthy of the title, but if Bakura was to be stopped, then he had to become the Sorcerer Supreme.

"Okay..." he began softly. "I'll do it. I'll become the Sorcerer Supreme"

"I know this isn't an easy choice for you, but I can assure you that it's the right choice," the witch assured. "Now then, hold still for a moment."

Before Marik could ask what she was trying to do, Yūko placed her two of her fingertips onto his chest. Moments later, a gold aura began to shine around them both, filling Marik with a new sense of strength. After several seconds, she pulled away, allowing the young man to feel his strength and vigor return to him.

"You're back to your full strength now," she explained. "And as an added bonus..."

Yūko opened her had and allowed a small ball of light to appear within it. The ball of light then changed into the last thing Marik ever wanted to see again: the Millennium Rod.

"You're going to need every advantage you need for what lies ahead of you," the witch continued as she held it out to him.

Marik was stunned at the sight of his mystic item. In Yūko's hand was the embodiment of every terrible deed that he committed in his life. Could he do it? Could he take the Rod once again? Bakura had both the power of the staff and his ring empowering him, and even though he was restored by Yūko, he still paled against the dark wizard. So, with a tentative hand, he once more took hold of the Millennium Item.

"Thank you, Yūko," he said. "I won't fail you."

"Be more concerned about failing yourself," she advised him. "Now, I should warn you that before you officially become Sorcerer Supreme, there is a trial that you must overcome first. I can't tell you anything further about it, but I will say that it is a test of your resolve."

"Wait, how would you know that unless..." the former villain surmised before realizing. "Leota already tried to recruit you, didn't she?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny that," the witch coyly replied.

Marik could only smirk at that before looking back at his brother.

"I'm ready."

* * *

"So, what exactly are you trying to find?" a now floating Leota asked as Janna continued to dig her hole in the sand.

After Leota had opened a portal back to the location of here the Cave of Wonders once stood, the young occultist asked the former Master of the Mystic Arts to summon a shovel so she could start digging a hole, though for what she didn't say. Janna ignored the heat from the sun as she continued to scoop mound after mound of sand out of her way, but despite her best efforts, she wasn't getting far. What she sought was still buried deep beneath the desert, and while the punk girl was known to dig very deep holes, she didn't have the time to get to where she needed to be.

"Marik said that the Pharaoh's carpet is still buried in the ruins of the Cave of Wonders along with everything else it held," Janna began/ "We gotta dig up all this junk at some point, but I figured that if we can find the carpet, then it can help Marik fight Bakura."

"And you planned to dig a mile down to get it?" Leota pointed out.

"Hey, it's a plan."

"Allow me to make this easier for you," the medium offered.

Reaching out with her magic, Leota began to sift through the sand with an unseen force. It wasn't before long that she managed to find and pull out the carpet. Janna was instantly saddened by the sight of the once-living object that had saved her from certain death hanging so still in the air before Leota used her powers to gently lower it to the ground.

"It's dead, isn't it?" she said dejectedly.

"Not exactly," Leota said. "True, the carpet is no longer capable of flying in this form, but I still sense signs of the magic the Pharaoh used to give the carpet life within it."

"So, you can repair him, right?" Janna surmised.

"Sadly, I cannot," the ghost denied. "The magical fabrics that have been torn cannot be simply reconnected, for they were woven in such a precise manner that they cannot be put back together."

Janna was distraught by that statement. She wanted so badly to save the carpet in order to return the favor of saving her life. But before she lost all hope, another idea struck her.

"You said that it can't be put back to the way it was." she began. "But what about reforming it entirely?"

"Yes, I suppose that could work," Leota reasoned "What are you thinking?"

"Take us back to the Manor," Janna said. "I got an idea."

* * *

Shadi stepped back in a defensive position as Bakura calmly advanced toward him. The battle was a losing one for the guardian of the tomb. Now that the Thief King had been empowered by the Staff of Jafar, he was beating back Shadi with ease. All around the keeper of the Millennium Key were the dying screams of his fellow protectors of the crypt as the El-Khatib ripped them apart with their claws. Shadi couldn't flee, for he knew that if he did, then Bakura would be one step closer to freeing his master.

"I'm not an unreasonable person, Shadi," Bakura said darkly. "Just hand over the Key and the Scales and you can die quickly and painlessly."

"They shall never belong to you!" his rival refused angrily. "Mirage shall not return to this world!"

"Well, I see that we're going to be doing things the hard way then," the Thief King scoffed. "That's fine by me."

Shadi let out a cry as he unleashed a volley of magical energy at Bakura, who vanished in a sudden flash of flames. The dark wizard then reappeared behind his enemy before blasting him in a back with a wave of black lightning, forcing the tomb guardian to his knees. Before Bakura could deal any more damage, Shadi quickly put his hand on the ground, creating a spell circle around Mirage's acolyte. Gold chains of energy shout out of the ground that entangled the evil spellcaster. As Bakura struggled to free himself from his binds, Shadi took this chance to get some distance between them. As he did, an El-Khatib leaped from the shadows and attempted to tackle Shadi, only to be blasted into dust by the keeper of the Key. As Shadi killed to other Shadow-Walkers to keep his comrades alive, Bakura broke free from his shackles and conjured a black fireball to throw at his rival, who was barely able to make a magic shield to protect him from the attack.

"I must admit that your parlor tricks are amusing," Bakura mocked "Why, I bet you've even got a rabbit under your hat."

The protector of the tomb ignored his words as he created several magic circles in the air. With several quick hand gestures, the circles fired beams of energy at Bakura, who, with a simple raising of his hand, created a shadow wall that deflected the onslaught of energy beams that were coming at him. The shadow wall suddenly shot out several large clawed hands made of pure darkness that reached out toward Shadi. The protector of the tomb formed two magical shields in each hand to fight back from the shadow hands. But though Shadi moved quickly to guard himself, two of the shadow hands managed to dart behind him and cut deeply into his back, forcing a cry of pain out of him.

As Shadi tried his best to stay on his feet, he saw his brothers being slain all around him by Mirage's monsters. He saw in horror as the El-Khatib fed on the dead or dying while others encircled him, waiting for the order from their master to end him. With his attention momentarily pulled away at the grisly sights around him, he suddenly felt an unseen force take hold of his very being. He was then raised high off the ground as he felt his entire body begin to twist and crack in ways no human should be pulled into.

"Face it, Shadi, compared to me you're only second rate," the Thief King declared.

With a wicked cackled, Bakura slammed Shadi to the ground as his master's monsters drew closer toward the broken man as he walked toward him. Shadi knew that he couldn't defeat the dark wizard and it would only lead to him getting his hands on the Millennium Key. He had no chance of recovering the Scale in time, but Ra damn him if he let Bkura get two Millennium Items. So, using everything he had left in him, he created a portal that he quickly went through in order to get to the only place he could think of where he could keep the Key safe from Mirage and her student. In an attempt to stop Shadi's escape, Bakua tried to blast him again with his black lightning, only to miss him by mere inches.

"Damn!" Bakura cursed in anger as he looked toward his monsters. "Find him! he can't have gone far!"

As the El-Khatib began to shadow travel in different directions, Bakura turned his attention toward the Millennium Item Shadi was forced to abandon. Losing the Key was a loss, but at least Bakura now had something to show to his master. As he picked up the Scale and held it in his hand, he couldn't help but cackle madly at his victory, knowing that he was one step closer to achieving his mad goals.


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Mystic Wars

Chapter 8

* * *

As Marik and Odion stepped through the portal and back into Leota's seance room, the former villain still felt a tinge of hesitation of accepting the role that was given to him, as well as the test that was soon to follow. He was still unsure as to what exactly this trial was going to be, but he was going to face it no matter what. As the two siblings stepped back into the mansion, they found Leota now floating above her seance table as she spoke to Janna, who was reading a large, dusty book which no doubt contained spells and enchantments that she was studying. When the duo saw Marik and Odion enter the room without Yūko, they instantly knew that they had failed in their mission to recruit her.

"She didn't accept it, did she?" Leota asked.

"No, she didn't," Marik answered. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Leota didn't seem shocked by that accusation in the slightest.

"I only wanted you to see what you needed to see," the ghostly medium replied. "But I am surprised to see you wielding the Millennium Rod once more."

"It was a cheap move," Marik half-joked. "But it worked."

"Wait, are you saying...?" Janna began curiously.

"Yes, I am, Janna," her friend confirmed. "I'll become the Sorcerer Supreme."

The punk girl couldn't help but let out a small 'squee' at that. She knew that her friend would rise to the challenge, but she had a sense that Marik would face much more pain before he would take the title he was destined to have.

"Yūko told me that there was a test I had to overcome first," the former villain said. "What is it?"

"It is a test of one's self," Leota began "In order to face the darkness around you, you must first face the darkness within you."

"I should've known..." Marik muttered. "How does this test begin?"

Leota then turned to the left to 'gesture' to the young wizard to a small table in the room's corner. Sitting on the table was a small, silver chalice filled with a strange, dark blue liquid. Knowing that he'd obviously have to drink it, Marik went over to the chalice and lifted it.

"What will I see?" he asked.

"I think you already know the answer to that," Leota replied.

Marik didn't want to say anything, but he knew that she was right. He already dreaded what he was about to face, for he had been running from it all this time.

"Good luck, Master Marik" Odion said.

"Go make your inner demons your bitch," Janna added.

Marik smiled and nodded to his friends before bringing the cup up to his lips and drink the potion. No sooner had he consumed the liquid did he begin to feel dizzy as his vision began to blur. Within seconds, Marik collapsed to the floor, shocking Janna and Odion.

"Did you just roofie him?" the young occultist asked bluntly.

"No, that potion is made to help one separate their astral body from their physical one," the former master of the mystic arts corrected. "I'm sure Marik will be able to astral project his body someday with a bit more practice. Not only that, but this potion will allow Marik's spirit self to begin his trial on the astral plane."

"Wait, he's a ghost now?" Janna realized. "I want some of that magic fruit punch!"

Before the punk girl could go for what was left of the potion that was left in the cup, Odion reach out and pulled her back, making the teen let out a 'hmph!' in annoyance. Despite her antics, Janna was generally concerned for Marik's well-being and mentally prayed that he could overcome whatever he was about to face on the astral plane.

"You can do it, Marik," she thought to herself. "I know you can."

* * *

Though Marik's psychical body was laying on the floor, his astral body was now floating over where is body was currently laying. Astral projection was something that the young wizard was still learning to do, so to actually have his spiritual self leave his body was quite the experience. He felt like he was floating like a feather that was carelessly gliding across the air. He felt no pain, no hunger, no thirst, only weightlessness. The room was still the same and he could see Janna and Marik looking over his physical body with concern in their eyes. However, Leota was not looking at his body on the floor, but straight at him. Using her eyes, she glanced over to the door as a way to silently tell him where to go next.

Marik nodded to her before gently floating over to the door and passing through it. However, where once stood the old, rustic halls of Gracy Manor now stood a dark, cold corridor that was dimly lit by torches that hung from old brick layered walls. Even though he didn't need air in this form, Marik took a deep, calming breath in order to prepare himself for what, or rather, who, he was about to face, before pressing forward. As he floated down the altered halls of this part of the astral plane, he took mental notes of his surroundings and how similar they were to his home below the desert sands, giving him all more the reason to be ready for what was to come next. It wasn't before long that he reached a room that was an exact replica of his old bedroom in the tombs.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked simply. "You've been waiting for this, haven't you?"

A dark chuckle emanated from the shadows before a figure stepped out to greet Marik. The former villain tightened his fist at the man who gave him a sinister smile in return. He didn't know if this was the real thing or part of the test, but he didn't care, he wasn't running away from this monster again.

"Well, well, well, look who it is?" Marik's evil self said with another laugh. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Not long enough," Marik sneered.

"Oh, is that any way to talk yourself?" his dark side mocked. "That's not very healthy."

"You were never apart of me!" Marik snapped back.

"Keep telling yourself that," his evil side replied with a dark grin.

Marik knew that it had to be him that he had to face if he was to become Sorcerer Supreme, but the question remained: Was he ready for him?

"We've been waiting for you" Yami Marik informed him.

"We?" Marik repeated in confusion.

Suddenly, a crack was heard from behind the young wizard before he was struck by a sudden flash of pain that made him collapse to his knees. He turned around to see another figure emerge from the darkness with a whip in his hand, one that he never wished to see again.

"F-Father?" he gasped in shock.

* * *

"Is there anything we can do for him?" Janna asked.

"This is Marik's fight, Janna," Leota reminded her. "And it's one that he must finish alone."

"Have patience," Odion mentioned. "Master Marik is strong. He'll overcome this."

"Do you even know what exactly he's overcoming though?" the occultist pointed out.

"I...don't," the man-servant admitted before quickly adding "But that doesn't mean that Marik can't defeat whatever it is."

That didn't exactly instill Janna with a lot of confidence. She then turned her attention toward Leota, who was also intently looking over Marik's body.

"You said that Marik had to face the darkness within him," she said. "Do you know what he's facing?"

"I don't know what exactly he'll see on the astral plane, but I know that it's what has haunted him the most," the ghostly medium replied. "When I went through this trial, I had to face my greatest fears."

"And what were you afraid of?" the goth girl inquired.

"...My own death," Leota solemnly answered. "A fear, as you can see, that was warranted."

Suddenly, a portal opened up in the room, making the trio jump in shock. Odion put himself between Janna and the portal while Leota's crystal ball began to glow a bright shade of green. Janna, however, grabbed a nearby chair and lifted it up as a makeshift weapon, ready to fight whatever was about to come through the portal. However, it wasn't an enemy that stepped into the room, it was a friend. It was Shadi, who was limping from the grievous wounds he had received from his battle with Bakura. The protector of the tomb collapsed to the floor, causing the two mortals to rush to his side.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Janna asked.

"His name is Shadi," Odion explained as he helped him back to his feet. "He is the protector of the tomb that keeps Mirage from entering our world."

"What happened to him?" the goth inquired.

"...L-Leota..." Shadi muttered in pain. "Where..where is she?"

"You know each other?" the tattooed man asked.

"He visited me from time to time to consult about the Millennium Items," the former Sorcerer Supreme replied before looking over to her friend. "I'm here, Shadi. What happened to you?"

"It was...Bakura," the guardian answered. "He...he attacked the tomb. He's killed everyone else...I'm the only one that escaped."

"Shadi, where is the Millennium Scale?" the medium questioned in fear.

"Bakura has it," Shadi admitted in defeat. "It took everything I had to make it here in order to keep him from getting the Key as well."

The guardian them weakly removed the Millennium Item from around his neck and held it out to Leota.

"You must keep it safe," he implored her. "You must-"

Shadi then doubled-over in agony to which Odion managed to catch him before he fell to the floor, dropping the Key as he did. With Janna's help, the two of them brought the wounded man over to a nearby couch and gently laid him down upon it. Leota then floated over to them before she began to emanate a dark green light from her ball as a similar beam was cast down upon Shadi's wounds. Janna instantly put together that the ghostly woman was trying to use a sort of healing magic on the guardian to mend the damage he had taken from the battle with Bakura. It was then that Janna remembered that the Key was laying on the floor before going over to pick up the Item so that she could hand it back to its rightful owner.

However, just as her fingers touched the Key, a sudden flash of images flooded her mind like a tsunami. She saw images of the other seven Millennium Items and the owners they belonged to. Among them was a beautiful Egyptian woman who Janna instantly recognized as Ishizu Kaiba, wife of billionaire Seto Kaiba. In the brief image she saw of the woman, it looked as though Isihzu was holding the Necklace out to her as if she was trying to give it to her. Like touching a hot stove, Janna yanked her hand away from the Millennium Key.

"The Millennium Item is not meant for you, child," Shadi informed her weakly. "At least, not THAT one."

Before the young occultist could ask what he meant by that, Shadi passed out on the couch while Leota continued her attempts to heal him. Janna looked back at the Millennium Key, all the while wondering what the vision she saw meant for her.

* * *

The tomb that Shadi once guarded was now filled with the screams of the dead and the flesh being ripped from the bone as it was consumed by the El-Khatib. Standing among the carnage, was Bakura, still coming off the high of his victory over his enemy. With the Scale now in his possession, he was all the more closer to achieving his goal. Still, he had wished he had managed to obtain the Key as well. Just then, his shadow began to morph, a clear sign that his master had arrived. But this time, he would have something to show for his dark teacher.

"Master," he said as he kneeled before the shadow. "Does this place look familiar to you?"

Mirage let out a snarl in disgust at the tomb that held her in Morbia once she saw it.

"You had better have something to show for this bad comedy," she sneered.

"As a matter of fact, I do" Bakura answered as he held up the Scale to her. "Another step closer to your freedom, master."

"Ah, the Scale," she said in amazement. "And the Key?"

"...Shadi escaped with it," Bakura admitted, not knowing what her reaction would be as he added "But he can't have gotten far! Not after I wounded him!"

Mirage growled in contempt at that but did not strike her student. True, she couldn't call his mission a success, but on the other hand, it wasn't a failure, either. The Scale was now her's, Shadi was mortally wounded and his follows were all but food for her monsters. By her standards, this was a victory for her forces.

"I find this...acceptable," she finally said. "Well done, my apprentice."

"Thank you, my master," the Thief King answered.

"We must strike again while we still have a chance," Mirage stated. "Go, find the Necklace next. Let nothing stand in your way."

"But what about Shadi and the Key?" Bakura addressed

"All in due time, my apprentice," his teacher assured. "I sense Shadi's time on this earth is fleeting. And when he is gone, the Key will be ours."

"And the Puzzle?" her student reminded her. "When do we make our move against Yugi and the Pharaoh?"

"We will save him for last," the mother of evil informed him. "I want to see the look in the Pharaoh's eyes when I pry the Puzzle off of his beloved host's corpse!"

"As you wish," Bakura compiled.

* * *

Marik's eyes widen as he saw the image of his father towering over him. He wanted to stand back up, but fear had paralyzed him. Standing before him was the very source of his trauma and the person who had set him down the path he was trying to escape from. It was his abuse and rage that gave rise to Marik's darker self, who was now standing beside the very person had had help to create it. His father struck him again with the whip, this time hitting him in the torso, making Marik cry out in pain.

"I knew you were weak, boy," his father stated harshly. "You craved a life outside world and it turned you away from where you belonged!"

"Father, please I-" Marik tried to say.

"Silence!" his father cut off with a kick to his face.

Marik tried to crawl away from the two men, only for his darker self to strike him with streaks of gold lightning at him, making him scream in pain. Using his dark magic, Yami Marik lifted his other self off of the floor and slammed him into the wall, all the while he continued his magical onslaught. Marik tried to break free of his darker self's grasp with his own magic, but the agony that was now coursing through his body kept his mind from focusing on casting any spells.

"You're still weak," the darker Marik mocked. "You desperately trying to bury me away in your mind only made me stronger!"

He then used the magical bolts to fling his other self back down to the floor. No sooner did Marik hit the ground did his farther stomp on his back to keep him down.

"I knew you were a monster the moment you born!" he shouted down at his son. "You murdered your mother when she gave birth to you!"

"No, it wasn't my fault!" Marik pleaded. "I was only an infant!"

"An infant who should never have been born!" the tomb keeper shot back as he struck him again with his whip. "How many lives did you destroy? Hundreds? Thousands? your mother and I were the first of your victims that you've left in mass graves!"

Marik couldn't deny it, but his father was right. How many lives did he destroy? He devastated his family in his mad quest for power and have killed gods know how many people. He was a fool to think that he was truly worthy of taking on the title of Sorcerer Supreme. How could Leota be so wrong in choosing him of all people? As his father continued to whip his son, his darker self spoke up once more.

"We can beat him, you know," he said. "And I'm not just talking about our father, either. Together we can kill Bakura and take the Millennium Items for ourselves! All you have to do is let me back in, and we'll finish what we started!"

The mixture of pain and shame weld up in Marik's chest. He wasn't strong enough to stop Bakura, but if he let Yami back in, then maybe he could finally put a stop to this. However, as he reached out toward his darker side, his mind flashed with images of Ishizu, Odion, and Janna, and how they believed in him. He had come too far to forsake their faith in him now. With everything he had, he fired a magical blast of energy at his dark side that sent him flying backward into a wall. Stunned by what he saw, Marik's father stumbled back just enough to let Marik stand back on his feet so he could face him. Marik then began to advance toward him, to which the tomb keeper tried to lash out again with his whip, only to have his son catch it before it could strike him again.

"I didn't kill my mother, you did!" Marik stated firmly as he yanked the whip out of his hand. "Your dogmatic ideology and anger drove her to her death by the time she gave birth to me!"

"Do not speak to me that way, you insolent-" his father tried to shot.

"Everything that made me into the monster I became all stemmed from you," his son continued. "Fathers are meant to love their children, but you never wanted children. Only something you could project your insanity onto and pretend to call it tradition as you beat us!"

"M-Marik..." his father now begged. "Please, I-"

"-am a sad old man who was part of a dead religion and governed by his madness!" the young wizard interjected. "But every step I take now is a step I take away from you and the poison you put in me!"

He then looked over to his Yami self, who was now cowering before him.

"And as for you..." he began. "You're right. I'll never be fully separated from you. But I'm stronger than I ever was when I was with you, and I refuse to let you control me ever again. I have a family who loves me and friends who care for me! And neither of you are going to take that away from me ever again!"

As he spoke a bright light began to emanate from his body, growing stronger with each word he said.

"It's taken me all this time to figure out who I am, but now I finally know..." he said. "I am Marik Ishtar, and I am the Sorcerer Supreme!"

With those last few words, the light that was forming around Marik erupted in a shockwave on energy that vaporized his two enemies in mere seconds. The light consumed the entire tomb for several seconds before finally fading away, leaving Marik to feel a sense of relief and joy wash over his soul.

"Marik," a new, gentle voice said.

Surprised by the new voice, the former villain turned around to see a woman standing before him with a warm smile on her face. He had never met her before, but yet he still knew who she was.

"Mother?" he asked. "Is it...is it really you?"

"It is, my son" she confirmed. "Come here, let me see you"

Marik walked up to his mother and embraced her in his arms in a deep hug. He had never seen her face before, but he could feel her love for him as the held one another. He wept tears of joy as felt his mother hold him like a child.

"How is this possible?" he questioned.

"It doesn't matter now," she answered. "I came to see you complete your trial and take the title you were meant to have."

"Mother, I'm so sorry," he apologized with tears in his eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, my son," his mother assured. "My death was not your fault, and I am so proud to see you find your way out of the darkness that had shrouded your life."

"I still don't know if I'm ready for this," her son admitted. "I don't know if I can be a true master of the mystic arts."

"I know you will, Marik," his mother said, touching his cheek as she did. "You are so much stronger than you realize, and I know that you will be a true Sorcerer Supreme."

It was then that the doors to the exit of the tomb slowly opened, revealing a bright light on the other side that beckoned Marik to step through.

"Now go. Be the man I know you can be. And remember, no matter where you go, or what you do, know that I will always be watching over you and your siblings, loving you all."

With a kiss on the forehead, she released her hold on him and gestured toward the open door. Marik took several steps toward it before looking back.

"I love you, Mother," he told her, words he always wanted to say to her.

"I love you too, Marik," she said with a smile.

With that, Marik stepped through the door, letting the light overtake him.

* * *

Marik gasped as he awoke back in Leota's seance room. His gasps for breaths instantly caught the attention of Janna, Odion, and Leota, to which the teen and his adopted brother rushed to his side to help him back to his feet. However, he gestured to let him stand up on his own two feet, letting him let stand proudly before them. Janna was so wrapped up in Shadi's fading condition that she almost forgot about her friend and his trial.

"Did you do it?" she asked. "Did you win?"

"I did," Marik confirmed. "I'm ready to become the Sorcerer Supreme."

"Marik..." Shadi weakly called out to him.

Upon hearing his name being spoken, Marik looked to see a wounded Shadi laying on the nearby couch. He quickly went over to his side, fearing that he may not have much time left.

"Bakura attacked him," Leota explained. "He now has the Millennium Scale"

"And we both know which item he'll be after next," the fallen guardian added on weakly.

Shadi then held up the Key to Marik.

"Please, Marik, you must take the Key," he begged. "Only you can stop Bakura now."

"Don't say that, Shadi," the young spellcaster refuted gently. "We can heal you, and we'll stop him together."

"It's too late for me, Marik," Shadi answered. "My time has come"

Marik wanted to refuse that statement a try to heal him, but he could see it in the guardian's eyes that he was not for this world much longer. He then looked down at the Key in Shadi's outstretched hand. It was almost funny in a cosmic sort of way. All the time he had spent trying to hunt for the Millennium Items, and yet here he was, now able to own two of the objects he had killed for in the past, and it was through kindness that he was gifted them. But now his path was clear. For he would use these Items to protect the world from Bakura and his dark master.

So, with a nod, Marik reached out and gently took hold of the Key before placing it around his neck. Shadi smiled as he closed his eyes and leaned back onto the couch. Moments later, he began to fade away in a warm glowing light. Within seconds, Shadi faded away into the light, signaling that he had left this plane of existence. Janna gasp in both shock and amazement at what she just witnessed. For a girl who loved death, she had never seen it first hand. Carpet's death was one thing, but this was on a different level. She only knew Shadi for less than five minutes, but she understood well enough what the weight of his death meant and what the stakes were now that Marik had taken on his role.

Marik and the others said nothing as they watched Shadi pass on, only giving him the silence and solidarity that was deserving of him. Once he had fully vanished, Marik clenched his fists, finding his resolve for his next move. He turned toward Leota, who looked back at him with confidence in her gaze.

"You're ready," she said proudly.

"Not yet he's not," Janna spoke up.

Before Marik could ask what she meant by that, the young oculist went over to a nearby closet and opened it to reveal to him and Odion a cloak. But upon seeing it, Marik instantly realized that it was no ordinary garment just as it flew up to him.

"Carpet?!" he said in shock as it flew around him. "But how is this possible?"

"Leota and I dug him up while you guys were away," Jann answered. "It took some serious stitching, but we managed to save his life."

The newly made carpet then placed itself on Marik's shoulders, making the former villain feel truly worthy of his new title.

"Thank you, Janna," he said to her.

"Aw, it was nothing," she brushed off. "But we got bigger stuff to worry about now."

"She's right, Master Marik," Odion agreed. "Bakura is no doubt on his way to KaibaCorp as we speak."

"Why would he go there?" Janna asked.

"Because my sister is in possession of the Millennium Necklace," Marik clarified. "And he'll kill everyone in that building to get it."

With their mission now at hand, Marik opened a portal to his brother-in-law's building. With his two friends at his side, he stepped through the portal, ready to take the fight to Bakura.


End file.
